The Ghoul of Night Raid
by Helspawn007
Summary: Kaneki had failed. Because of this failure he died saving no one, Or that's how it should've happened. Kaneki woke up to find himself in a place called the Empire. All he wants to do now is live a normal life and after three years he did just that. But war is starting and Kaneki will use this war to atone for his sins if its the last thing he'll do.
1. Ghoul in the Empire

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill **

Kaneki wakes up in his bed but stayed where he was and just looked up at the ceiling. Nothing ran through his head and he wondered why he wasn't moving. Was it because he wanted something to change? Or was it he wanted to do something new? He allowed himself to lie there for a little over a minute before he dragged himself out of bed. His room wasn't much to be desired, a simple bed stuffed into the corner with the majority of the space filled up by a writing desk and a dresser. His desk was covered with unorganized notes and ideas from various things he liked to write about, he quickly put everything back to the way it was before he stared working and then started his day the way he always did. He did his normal routine of putting on his work suit, washing his face, making sure his hair was still dyed black and finally putting his white eyepatch over his left eye. There was nothing wrong with his eye per say but if anyone knew what happened with his left eye, they would kill him without mercy. The people here were more tense and violent then the Aogiri Tree are and Kaneki didn't want to be on any more hit lists.

He left his room witch was located on the second floor of his home. He went down the only staircase in the house that lead to the shop. It was before opening so no one other then him was in the shop and that was the way it always was. Kaneki walked through the coffee house and went straight for the door and he exited the shop out into the streets. Again as he always did he looked up at the sign above the door Anteiku Local Café. He smiled at the memories that the old Anteiku brought him, but the moment didn't last as the name also brought the memories of all of his mistakes. He banished the thoughts and made his way down the streets of the Capitol of the Empire.

Kaneki had been walking this same road for nearly three years but he still couldn't get over the size of the city around him. His home town of Tokyo was a lot like the Capitol but the buildings were skyscrapers and the only building here that could match them was the castle were the emperor lived with his advisers. The streets were already packed with people and as Kaneki looked around he felt as out of place as he always did. The people around him reminded him of European or american decent while his own ethnicity stuck out like a sour thumb. At first the people here didn't respect him or give him much thought so it was easy to ignore and forget. At the time the people tried to beat him down or kill him out right, but Kaneki beat the crap out of them for even trying.

Kaneki shook his head to stop himself thinking about that as he got to his destination. It was a simple farmers market that sold everything he needed to run Anteiku. He always went to the same shop and when he came close the owner, a old man by the name of Gensei waved to him from behind his counter "Oh morning Kaneki!"

Kaneki put a grateful smile on his face "Morning Gensei. I'll have-"

"I already have you covered" Gensei said cutting him off. From behind his desk the old man struggled to take out a huge bag that was labeled Coffee "You always have the same order, so I thought I might as well prepare todays order"

Kaneki laughed softly "Thank you sir" he reached into his suit pocket but Gensei help up his hand "If you pay me I will order the army to burn that café of yours to the ground. You pay me more then any one that ever comes for my goods, these are on the house"

Kaneki bowed "Thank you very much"

Gensei laughed a big laugh "If I didn't know you would call you crazy. No one bows to anyone anymore, unless your meeting the emperor. Your to kind of a boy Kaneki"

"Says the man giving my order for free. Your a bit of a hypocrite sir"

Gensei nearly busted a gut with his next laugh "Well I can't argue with that. Have a good day boy, keep a pot hot for me would you?"

"Always" Kaneki said leaving. He swung the bag of beans over his shoulder, the hundred pound bag feeling like nothing in his arms. He walked back to his shop stopping only to look at the wanted posters. They were filled with the posters of the criminal organization known as Night Raid. As of now there were four posters up one of the assassin Akame, the soldier Bulat, the killer Sheele and the leader of Night Raid, the former general Najenda. The posters were drawn well like they always were but Kaneki could tell that they needed to be updated to the times. Akame was 18 by know and Bulat, Sheele and Najenda would've done the smart thing and changed their appearance to make themselves harder to find. Kaneki looked over the posters for another few minutes before continuing back to Anteiku. As soon as he got back he turned on the lights and moved the closed sign to open. He moved behind the counter and heated the first pot of water and he set the beans under the counter and grounded up the spare he had into a nice dust before readying the pot over lay.

The first of his costumers came in and he welcomed them. They ordered there cups and Kaneki was more then happy to oblige. Everything seemed to be going normally until the bell on the door rang "Welcome" Kaneki said and then he stopped himself from saying any more when he realized who just walked in. She was tall with beautiful features and a body that most woman would kill for. Her blue sapphire hair was down to her hips and at her side a rapier was at her side "General Esdeath" Kaneki said greeting the general with his best bow "I thought you had a campaign in the north?"

Esdeath walked up and took a seat at the counter. Kaneki poured her his best cup of coffee that he could manage and after taking a sip Esdeath sighed "I did have a mission but it was so boring. The campion of the north barley put up a fight, but at least the north won't be a problem"

Kaneki sent up a silent prayer to the people that had stood in Esdeath's way, he knew that they probably died painfully. Esdeath drank from her cup as Kaneki wiped the table absent mindedly "So" she said "What interesting things have happened since I've been gone?"

"Well, Night Raid killed a noble at the edge of town and his entire family" Kaneki said. he had heard the news that Night Ride had gone in at night and killed every one on the grounds, the nobles daughter wasn't spared, they found her body with a huge slash through her chest laying in her own blood.

"Other then that a few captains haven't been found, so they are more then likely dead" Kaneki continued "Other then that the city has been nothing to exciting"

Esdeath nodded as she finishes her cup. She sets it down and Kaneki fills it up again as fast as he could, Esdeath liked her coffee hot and Kaneki didn't want to disappoint her. She took another sip and smiled "Your coffee is one of the things I miss the most about the capitol Kaneki. No one makes it like you do"

Kaneki smiles "I thank you for your compliments but I left my home before I could learn how to make it properly so it can still get better"

Esdeath returns the smile and gets up "Thank you for the coffee but I need to get to a meeting"

"With who?"

"The Emperor" Esdeath said blankly

Kaneki did a double take "You came for a cup of coffee before reporting to the emperor?"

"Yes. Whats wrong with that?"

"Well you are a general so shouldn't you do your duty before chatting up a friend?"

Esdeath smiles her smile, the smile that was happy but for reasons that you couldn't place or didn't want to "I did my duty, honoring an old friend that shouldn't be to bad"

"Esdeath you've known me for three years I wouldn't call us old friends" Kaneki said "But thanks anyway"

"That short amount of time shouldn't be that much. In my line of work anyone that survived longer then a month is an old friend. Speaking of surviving-"

"The answer is still no Esdeath" Kaneki said "I will fight if this city is under attack but to fight against people like Night Raid and the revolutionary army is out of the question"

Esdeath sighed "It was worth a shot. Well good bye Kaneki, I read your book by the way, very nice"

"Thank you genera, please come again" he said as she walked out the door. Kaneki sighed as he filled the pot back up with the black liquid that made his life run. Esdeath had been trying to get him to join her personal guard since they first met. Kaneki let the memory wash over him again, looking back it was probably the second weirdest meeting he had in his life.

_**Three Years ago **_

_He had failed. He could get to Anteiku on time, and the manager had died because he was to slow. He was in the ruins of the café that had once been his salvation but now it was little more then a destroyed pile of rubble. Kaneki made his way through the rubble as best he could with the wound at his side. he had fought a special investigator a few moments ago and he had left a huge gash in the left side of his waist. He forced his way through and found himself surrounded by the bodies of a hundred Ghouls. The place he was in was supposed to be their secret escape route, but standing at the exit was a man with white hair, a white trench coat and glasses. In his hands was a atchee case trimmed with black and gold designs and a rapier "How did you?" Kaneki thought looking at the bodies around him. _

_Kaneki forced himself to look at his opponent. This man was an investigator but that didn't matter, he had to survive and keep fighting. He owed Hide, Yoshimura and Touka to much do die here. He fought with everything he had but in the end it didn't matter, Kaneki was on the ground next to the bodies with both of his eyes stabbed by the man's sword. He felt his life end and in his final moments he apologized to everyone he had wronged after becoming a beast known as a Ghoul. _

_Everything went black but Kaneki was able to ope his eyes. "I'm alive?" he thought instantly sitting up. His clothes were in perfect condition and his eyes were perfectly fine as well, intact he felt as if he had just had a nice nap and was fully rejuvenated. He looked around him and found that he wasn't underground anymore. He was in a dense forest with trees as far as he could see. He loped up to see the moon, and it was blood red "Where am I?" he thought getting up. _

_He started walking through the forest till he saw lights and his sprits lifted, he was close to Tokyo. Kaneki ran as fast as he could through the trees and after the first steps he realized that he was moving faster then he ever could. In fact, the speed he was going now made the rest of the world look like a blur. It took him one minute to cover the mile distance between him and the lights out of the forest. When he finally got there his heart sank, the city before him wasn't Tokyo, hell he didn't know any city in the world where a castle the size of a skyscraper dominated the majority of the huge space. The people were also clearly not Japanese but instead a mix of every ethnicity on the planet and he could only see in the city from the side lines. _

_Unknowing what to do Kaneki decided to sneak into the city. Soon he stole some clothes and found a place where he could dye his hair back to its natural black. He walked through the streets trying not to draw attention to himself, but it didn't work people began to turn their heads just to get a good look at him. Kaneki shot them all hard glances and they looked away "Hopefully I dyed my hair correctly and its just how I look thats turning heads" He thought. _

_He passed a bar and out of it came a few drunken soldiers. They wore what looked like standard body armor to Kaneki with a chest plate that surrounded the entire body except the lower body and that was protected by a similar piece of armor. They seemed like they were having a good time so Kaneki left them to their drinking but one noticed him looking at them "He-*Hick* What you looking at?" he asked _

"_Damn" Kaneki thought but he still tried to get away by walking slowly away "HEY I'M TALKING TO YOU!" _

_Kaneki looked back at the voice. Now the whole bar had come out and looked like they wanted to kill Kaneki "What?" Kaneki asked "Go back to your drinking" he said walking away again. _

"_Hey you can't talk back to me boy" The soldier said pulling out a sword from his waist "DO you know who I am? I'm a captain ranked officer in the empires army do you know what that means? I can kill you right here, fuck your mother and not a single thing will come back to haunt me!" he boasted _

_Kaneki looked at the man with dead eyes that held no emotion "Good for you, leave me be" he said_

_The Captain took offense to this apparently "Ok killing time boys!" he shouted as the members of the unit rushed at Kaneki with swords drawn. Kaneki tried his best to look like he was somewhat scared but he couldn't get the emotions on his face. After all the battles he had gone through, these guys were for lack of a better word, boring. For one there was only about twenty of them and they were slower then most humans that he fought in the past. The first one to attack came down with his blade with an overhead strike. Kaneki reached out with his hand catching the blade between his middle and pointer finger stopping the blade dead in ties tracks. The soldiers eyes widened a split second before Kaneki turned on his heel and kicks him a crossed the face sending him into the middle of the street. He skidded on the ground before hitting a store and going straight through the wall. Kaneki blinked and he looked down at his hand. It seems that his speed wasn't the only thing that had gotten an upgrade. _

_He looked back at the unit of soldiers. They were shaking in their boots after what they just saw, and Kaneki briefly wondered how they would react if he brought out his kagune? The thought made Kaneki smile and the soldiers move back "What?" Kaneki asked "Weren't you going to kill me?" _

_Those with any sense chose that moment to run away in a drunken frenzy. But to most of there credit they stood by their captain. He stood behind the majority of his men shaking and Kaneki guessed that this didn't happen to him too much "Attack!" he ordered. _

_The rest of them men, about thirteen, rushed Kaneki. They were so slow so Kaneki easily dodged their attacks and took them down one by one. He jumped, flipped and slid around the soldiers making it look like he was dancing more then fighting. After a few quick movements the soldiers were down with injuries ranging from broken ribs, to arms, to legs and Kaneki thought he went a little far because on man was on the ground and a human back was not meant to bend that way. _

_Kaneki walked away from the battle, ignoring the people now staring and gawking at him. He left the captain standing in front of the bar, he would need a change of leggings. Kaneki stopped when he heard a clapping sound and he turned to see the source. It was a tall blue haired beautiful woman with a excellent body and a bust that could be use for more then one thing. She had what looked like a commanders cap and a rapier at her side "That fight was excellent" she said _

_Kaneki said nothing turning his back and walking along. The woman laughed a soft laugh that made Kaneki stop. It was the kind of laugh of someone who was about to kill something, and enjoy the act of doing it. Kaneki turned around and saw the woman had drawn her rapier "You have courage man, lets see how much shall we?" _

_Before Kaneki could mouth a question the woman shot forward like a bullet making Kaneki react on instinct. As the tip of her sword came close he ducked and rolled over his shoulder to avoid the attack. Who ever she was, she was smart enough to press her advantage and kept attacking. Kaneki jumped back again and again to keep the point from hitting him. Kaneki wondered where the hell he was for the second time that night. Who fights in the middle of a crowded street for Christ's sake!? _

_He ducked once more and saw an opening on the woman's attacks. He curled his hand into a fist and attacked the woman in the side. Suddenly ice formed out of no where, blocking his strike "What?" he asked before the woman attacked with a punch of her own. The blow was full of power making Kaneki slide back a few paces. Once he gathered himself he looked back at his opponent. The ice at her side was starting to melt but what Kaneki wondered is where the hell it had come from. Never the less he got into a stance readying himself for the next attack. _

_But instead of attacking the woman sheathed her blade and chuckled "Not bad" _

_Kaneki raised an eyebrow "What?" _

"_You can't be more then what? 19? But you hold so much potential"_

_Kaneki straightened "Who are you?" _

_The woman smiled "I am Esdeath, General of the Empire. And you?" _

"_Kaneki" he responded _

"_Well then I would like to make you an offer Kaneki. Will you hear me out?" Esdeath asked _

_Kaneki hesitated for a few moments before agreeing. The two then went to the castle and they talked. With Esdeath's insight Kaneki learned that he wasn't on his earth anymore and a lot more. He learned of the Empire, the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid, the group of Assassins. In exchange for all of this information Esdeath made Kaneki tell her who he was and where he came from. To her face he lied by saying that he was from a place far from here, it was almost the truth. Out of respect for his fighting skills Esdeath gave Kaneki a home in the capitol witch he turned into the café Anteiku. The café quickly became a hit with almost everyone in the city and Kaneki resined himself to a quiet life as penance for the sins he committed in his world. He took to writing stories to relieve some boredom. His first novel was a book name __Tokyo Ghoul__, it was a best seller and made Kaneki's name spread far and wide as a writer would could match a general. But this was never proven and it faded into simple rumor. _

_**Present **_

Now three years later Kaneki continued his lifestyle of letting the world pass him by. Although he hated the way the capitol functioned with its corrupt nature he didn't want any part of fighting against it. At first this way of thinking was fine with him, but slowly it became intolerable to the point that he wanted to ripped the minister apart with his bare hands. But he had tried to change things on his own in the past and that had ended with to much unneeded death. His train of thought was broken when he realized that it was closing time already. As the last of the costumers left him he began the long process of cleaning the place up. By the time he was done he looked at the clock and found that it was ten at night. Kaneki stretched and he went up stairs to put away his clothes away and he changed into something more casual. Dressed in a simple shirt and jeans he headed out. He locked the door behind him as he walked out on the now quiet streets. He walked through the streets that lead to the main gate that headed out into the forest.

Kaneki lost track of time as he walked through the familiar trees and landscape. He always found walking through these trees to be relaxing and it became a part of his daily routine to come out hereHe loved walking through these woods, they reminded him of a scene in one of his favorite books. With business booming and everything staying the same as it always did, Kaneki's day couldn't get any better. That was, until he felt killing intent rushing at him from behind. He jumped high into the branches and a blast of energy shot passed under him.

A few hundred yards away a girl with pink hair looking through a sniper scope whistled her approval "He's good" she admitted "But he's surrounded now"

All around Kaneki figures came from the shadows. A huge armored figure, a purple haired woman, a animistic looking blond a brown haired swordsmen and finally a young girl with black hair and red eyes wielding a katana. In a manor of seconds they surrounded Kaneki and he said two words "Night Raid"

"Thats right" The swordsmen said

The girl with the katana looked at him with emotionless eyes "Ken Kaneki, Night Raid has orders to eliminate you"

**Authors Note: **

**Well here's an idea that has been sitting in my head for a while. If it is any conciliation I intend to do a near full series run with this story (Mostly because my friends won't shut up about either anime and I haven't watched either of them to completion despite what my profile picture is. I just like the art) **

**So if its a good idea give me a review and tell me anything you want implemented in the story. **

**So if you found this, Thanks for reading :)**


	2. Battle in the Sadows

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill **

Kaneki looked around at the opponents surrounding him before asking "What did I do?"

The youngest looking member of the assassins, a brown haired swordsmen looked up at him with a questioning look "What?"

"Your Night Raid are you not? Normally you go after Captains in the army, corrupt nobles and not simple coffee house owners/amateur writer" Kaneki comments.

The boy blinks before turning to the armored figure "He has a point".

"OW" he screams as the armored figure hits him over the head forcing his face to go into the dirt "Don't listen to the enemy you idiot" he chided.

The other members of Night Raid took this as an opportunity to move in closer to Kaneki. From his vantage point he could see that the blond would come in from below, the purple haired would come from one side and the armored figure would come in from the other side. Leaving him little choice but to jump and be an open target for the Katana wielder and swordsmen, not to mention the fact that the sniper was still out there. For now he needed to find an opening. He had no doubt in himself and he was more or less positive that he could take them all on if he brought out his kagune but a very simple fact stopped him from doing that. Near every one of his enemies had an Imperial Arm weapon, and Kaneki had learned the hard way not to mess with Imperial Arms lightly. He had to keep them talking "I ask again, What did I do to deserve being targeted by Night Raid?"

The question did what it was meant to do and everyone hesitated for a second except for the black haired katana user "We have orders to eliminate you. So it shall be done".

"So if your orders were to take your blade and take off your own head you would do it?" Kaneki asked.

"Yes" she said without missing a beat.

Kaneki jumps off the branch making everyone react before he holds up his hands in surrender "As a last request, just tell me what I did?"

"We have given the job by a revolutionary commander. You killed his son. We have evidence putting you at the crime scene when it happened and eye witness reports seeing you walk away with blood all over your body" The armored figure said.

"That is what you did" The brown haired swordsmen said getting into a low fighting stance "So be still and just die".

Kaneki lowered his arms and he looked at the ground, he remembered the day well. It was a little over two year after he had opened up shop in the best business corner of the town square. He had tried to keep to himself but in the end the hunger got over him and he became the monster known as the Centipede once more. He had gone out at night and killed two people before he regained his senses, apparently one of them was a commanders son. He remembered being over the bloody pool of blood, someone screaming and his hair turning white as he swallowed the last of someone's flesh. He did what he could to cover up his mistake but obviously he hadn't done a good enough job. Ever since then, he only went after escaped criminals that no one would ever miss, killers, rapists and other such trash to get his food. Kaneki felt a blade touch his shoulder and out of the corner of his eye he saw the black haired girl "I recognize you from the posters. Akame was it?"

She said nothing so he took that as a yes. He looked around at the rest and named those that he saw "The killer Sheele, I'm taking a guess that the man in the armor is the soldier Bulat. You came here to kill me, didn't know I warrantied this much of a welcoming party. So tell me who are the rest of you?"

The swordsmen takes a breath in and Bulat stops him "Don't, he intends to get out of this alive"

"Indeed I do" Kaneki said. He looked back at Akame "Do what you want. But I won't die here" In one swift movement Akame takes off Kaneki's eye patch with her katana and she looks him dead in the eyes

"We'll see about that" Akame said moving her blade closer to Kaneki's neck.

For some reason she froze for an instant and in that instant Kaneki jumped higher than any of them would've thought possible. Kaneki looked where he was headed and he landed in a small clearing at the edge of a row of trees. Before he came in for a landing he saw a flash of light as the sniper took another shot at him. Instead of missing like last time the shot would meet its mark right between his eyes. In desperation he twisted mid air and the blast hit the side of his leg completely destroying the skin and muscle underneath. Kaneki landed badly as he felt his injured leg break. He allowed himself a second to let his leg heal and for the thousandth time he thanked Rize for having an incredible healing factor as part of her Kagune. By the time he was in a full sprint his leg was healed and he was moving as fast as he could without bringing out his ace. Kaneki heard a loud crash and he realized that his best wouldn't be enough. Bulat the armored soldier had jumped carrying the swordsmen in under his arm and he landed nearly right where Kaneki was. The blond and Akame were quick and they also were coming up behind him. He could've outrun them but Bulat swung a fist aimed at Kaneki's head forcing him to go into a roll and stop his momentum dead as his attacks came at him.

The blond came out from the dark forest like a bullet, her animal claws aimed at his throat while Bulat summoned a red lance out of thin air and attacked as well. There teamwork was perfect and it left no way for him to escape so he was forced to gamble. He ducked under the blonds strike as he brought his hands up and then slamming them together down on the red lance. Kaneki's gamble paid off and he was able to catch the lance but he heard both of them chuckle before he felt cold steel pass through his shoulder. The swordsmen had used his friends attacks as the perfect opening to attack, his aim was a little off but his blade was still in Kaneki's shoulder.

His left arm fell down useless as Kaneki fell to his knees coughing up blood "For what its worth, I'm sorry" the swordsmen said.

Kaneki looked down at the puddle of blood forming from his wound. Despite himself he starts to laugh, a chuckle at first before a huge mad laugh. Quicker then a snake he grabs the swordsmen behind him with the back of his free fist, ripping part of his shirt while throwing him into a tree. Kaneki gets up from his position "Really? You stab me and then you think you've won? Boy, you win when your opponent is dead on the ground"

In front of everyone Kaneki takes the blade and pulls it out without a care in the world. Everyones eyes widened in shock as the blood from the ground started crawling up his body, going back into and closing the wound. Bulat and the blond take a step back and the swordsmen staggers to his feet behind Kaneki "What kind of Imperial Arms does that?" The swordsmen asked

"None that I know" the blond said

Akame and Sheele were the first to get out of their shock, if they had any, and attacked. Sheele came in first with a giant pair of scissors while Akame covered any escape. Kaneki saw their attack and it just made him chuckle. As they got close Kaneki quickly kicked underneath the scissors so they would go up over his head slicing through a tree. Akame's attack was unfettered by her partner's attack missing and puts a deadly strike at his heart. Kaneki catches the blade between his thumb and pointer finger. This had the double effect of stopping the blade and stopping any of the others from attacking out of pure awe. Back in her secret position the sniper watched the battle and her jaw could only go so far before it had to stop "Who the hell is this guy? But it doesn't matter Akame's got him"

Akame turned her blade and pulled it back cutting Kaneki's thumb on the way out. The members of Night Raid got smirks on their faces "Have fun in hell" the sniper said from her position.

Kaneki's eyes widened as he saw a curse start to spread around his finger, it moved slowly but surly and Kaneki figured it would kill him if it spread anywhere vital "My blade is Murasame" Akame said sheathing her blade "With one cut the target is eliminated"

"Is that so? Well then" Kaneki said. His eyes took on the look of a mad animal as he bite down hard on his hand and ripped his thumb and a good portion of his hand along with it. He spits out the finger and watches it die on the ground and dissolve. With his other hand he covers his left eye and his body starts shaking madly "Please, I'm starting to get hungry. So I'm begging you, leave" he pleaded.

The members of Night Raid blinked. This guy just took a cut from Murasame, ripped his hand apart and now he wanted them to leave?

Bulat looked at Akame and she nodded back to him. Everyone took a fighting stance and prepared for the next engagement. Kaneki saw this and he lowered his head "This is for your own good" Kaneki said.

He screamed and slammed both fists to the ground sending a shockwave of force out and picking up a huge amount of dust. By the time Night Raid opened their eyes and Kaneki was gone. They all stood there dumbfounded before the blonde put her hands against her head and yelled in frustration "OH COME ON! How the hell did we let a freaking coffee store owner get the better of us!?"

Everyone sheaths their weapons and they go meet up with the sniper. Once they get to her position the sniper looks at them with pure disappointment "Ok, I have to ask, how the hell did you let a cripple get away?"

The swordsmen looks at her with a questioning glance "Mine, he wasn't a cripple?"

"Hell yeah he was, he jumped and I hit his leg. Messed the thing up pretty bad" Mine said "Maybe you were just to slow Tatsumi"

Tatsumi clenched his fist in frustration "Why you!"

The blond claps him on the back "Don't get to upset about it Tatsumi, you know how Mine is" she said playfully. She then looked at Mine with a serious expression "Mine, maybe you didn't see the whole story because of your position but that guy had no wound on his leg. If anything only his clothes were ripped"

"And that wasn't the scary part" Sheele said chiming in "He bit his hand and ripped it apart before spitting it out like it was nothing"

"That doesn't mean anything" Mine said getting annoyed "He's desperate to survive and so he did what he had to do."

Tatsumi shrugs before looking at Akame. She had stayed silent throughout their walk up and hadn't say anything throughout the whole conversation. She looked, Tatsumi was trying to look for a better word then disturbed "Akame what is it?"

"Huh?" She said her train of thought braking.

"What's wrong?" Tatsumi asked again.

"Yeah what the hell Akame?" Mine asked "You had a chance to take the man's neck apart but you froze, what for?"

Akame's eyes returned to their normal cold demeanor "I made a mistake, nothing more. Either way the mission is a failure, we will return to base."

Everyone took the hint that she really didn't want to talk about it. They all then started making their way back to base, all of them dreading what boss was going to do to them for failing. Akame was lost in thought through the journey passed the trees and into the mountains. She trusted her instincts but in that moment it seemed like she was about to attack a Danger Beast instead of a man. Another thing that made her question herself was she didn't know if she was imagining things, but at that moment Kaneki's left eye went from white to jet black.

**Back at Anteiku**

Kaneki was in his home's only restroom looking himself in the mirror. His eye was still black and his hair was starting to turn back to white. Scared, he ran into the kitchen finding an old pot of coffee. It was cold but Kaneki didn't care. He dropped five red sugar cubes in the coffee and he sucked down the cold liquid as quickly as he could. He felt his body slowly go back to a controlled state as his hunger was satisfied, for now. He stood there breathing hard in a cold sweat. After he regained his composure he returned to his room and he from his clothes drawer he took out another eye patch. He set the patch on his mantel of his bed as he collapsed onto the covers. He contemplated going to sleep but he figured that Night Raid would attack his house as soon as they figured out where he lived or already did and they were just making plans now.

He forced himself out of bed and walked to the wall. He went to the corner where the wall met the door frame, where the small latch was hidden. He pulled on the latch and the plaster of the wall tore away to reveal a secret closet worked into the wood works. Inside hanging on a nail was a black battle suit with white trimmings on the wrists and ankles. Right above it was a face mask that was red and black with a white teeth design over the mouth that held a zipper opening. Kaneki took the mask down and stared at the fabric mask. He hadn't put on the mask since he failed everyone back home, but he needed keep his life quiet. He puts on the mask and the suit, he looks at himself in the mirror. He lets his ghoul side take over for a second making his eye go black and his hair go completely white. He looks at himself before taking out the part of the ripped shirt he got from the swordsmen "Manager, Hinami, Touka and everyone I called friend. Please, give me courage."

**Secret Base of Night Raid**

Najenda put a brand new cigar into her mouth, trying to get over what she just heard. Everyone had just came back from their mission of killing Ken Kaneki and Najenda expected them to say success like always. What she got was a story of how a café owner fought them all back and escaped even when they had multiple chances to take him out. Hell, from what she heard Akame could've taken his head off.

In the main hall with her was every active member of Night Raid. At her side was her old friend Lubbock, leaning next to a pillar. Next to him was Bulat, thankfully he had taken off his armor so that she could tell what he was thinking. Mine, Sheele and Leone were standing in a group a ways off and in front of her giving the report was Tatsumi and Akame. A cloud of smoke circled around Najenda's lips as Tatsumi finished "After creating a cloud of smoke for cover, the target escaped back to the city presumably back to his quarters."

"Tatsumi" Najenda said.

"Yes Boss?"

"Your new here so I'll let you tell this little joke before I put you in kitchen duty for the rest of the year. Now, what's the real report?"

Everyone that was on the mission shifted uneasily and Najenda got the hint "Seriously?" she asked.

"Yes boss" Akame said, sparing Tatsumi from continuing further "We underestimated him and the price for that was his escape. As the mission was my operation I take full responsibility for the failure."

Najenda sighed "Well if you're going to be all chivalrous and take the blame for everyone it takes out all of the fun for punishing you. Well at least everyone is back safe and sound, Tatsumi."

"Boss" Tatsumi said instantly.

"Tell me, why did everyone go easy on this enemy?"

Tatsumi scratches the back of his head, not knowing what to say "I-If I had to say something it would be that it was all of us and only him?"

"Are you asking or telling me?" Najenda asked, her only good eyebrow raised.

"Telling you Boss!"

"Well then you told me wrong, such a thing like that isn't an excuse. Yes you were all there but you forgot a very important detail. Ken Kaneki has been a known friend of General Esdeath for years, anyone who that which calls friend has a trick or two up their sleeve" Najenda chided "You all could've been killed if he had an Imperial Arm. You all will be punished for this mistake, but I can't seem to have one come to mind. Let me think on it overnight and ask what it is me in the morning, dismissed."

Najenda gets up from her seat in the main hall and walks off to her private quarters. Lubbock watches her go and breathes a sigh of relief "You know, for the first time I am thankful that I didn't go on a mission with you guys."

"Oh shut up Lubbock!" Mine screamed.

"Um Akame?" Tatsumi asked looking at the girl next to him.

"Yes Tatsumi?"

"When the boss says that she wants to have a night to think our punishment over. Does that mean-?"

"It was nice knowing you kid!" Mine said.

"It won't be to bad, but you might die" Sheele said.

"It was fun while it lasted" Leone said with a smirk.

"Another one bites the dust" Bulat said, his head hung in disappointment.

Tatsumi couldn't hide his horror. His jaw dropped and he felt tears of fear start streaming down his cheeks. Everyone laughs at his expense except for Akame who remained as emotionless as ever. Najenda, who was standing on the outside of the door leading to the main room, chuckled to herself as the last of her cigar burns out. Tatsumi was coming into the group excellently, further more it seemed that everyone was taking a liking to him. Najenda walked down the halls to her room, where she hoped her gamble had paid off.

**Later that Nigh**t

It was around two in the morning and most of Night Raid was asleep. Najenda had walked out from her room for a late night smoke. She hummed to herself as she stroked her lighter and lit up her cigar. Despite herself he went to the roof of the base, she just wanted to see the sky for some reason. She stood there in the cold night breeze smoking for about a quarter of an hour. When she was satisfied he turned her back, and out of the corner of her eye something moved. She turned around to see what was there but she was to slow. Quicker than any opponent she had ever faced before, someone had jumped her and pinned her to the wall. One of the attackers hands was over her mouth so she couldn't call out while the other held her human arm in a hold against the wall. Najenda looked at her attacker, he was wearing a black battle suit and a mask that covered his whole face except the left eye. She struck out with her free arm, which happened to be her metal one, at her attack. He quickly let go of her other arm and blocked her strike as easily a parent would the hand of a child. With pure strength he slowly crushed the metal hand, making the steel bend into a useless ball "Former General Najenda, lovely night"

Najenda didn't respond, his hand was still over her mouth. In desperation she moves to kick him but he easily blocks all of the strikes. He puts his heel hard into her ankle nearly breaking it before punching her in the stomach winding her. She had just enough time to breath in before he clamps his hand back down on her mouth. He places his free hand over the mouth design "Don't move or anything" He said.

Najenda does every move to get out of the hold but his grip was like iron clamps. Every strike she thought would land was blocked quicker than she could see. Her attacker sighs in frustration before slamming her head into the wall sending Najenda's vision into weird loops. When she could see straight again his finger was back on his mouth in a shush position. He shakes his head "I said don't move or anything you're making noise, _Shush _I'm talking. Now I'm going to ask you a few things and you're going to answer honestly. Are we clear?"

Najenda nodded yes "Good" he said. Suddenly his left turned from white to black with a red iris and Najenda couldn't hold back her shocked expression"_Akame was right, he's not human_" Najenda thought.

"Now, tell me what your big plan was" Kaneki ordered.

**Authors Note: **

…**.Wow this story kind of took off didn't it? On the first day I left my computer with about 5 followers and I looked at my inbox later and it jumped to 17 (Don't know what its at now, last I checked it was in the 40's). First off, thank you for making this story take off as well as it did, this is my second attempt at a good Fanfic so I'll keep working to make it decent. **

**Also I don't know how many but quite a few people PM'd and reviewed that Kaneki was getting attacked just because he was friends with Esdeath. At first I was going to make this the reason he was being targeted but it didn't really fit with how I see Esdeath's character. Lets face it guys, she doesn't get the nickname of Ice-Queen just because of her Imperial Arm. She could watch everyone she ever worked with be slaughtered in front of her and she wouldn't give two sh#ts. But then I finished watching Tokyo Ghoul (Both seasons, kind of regretted it) and the idea that Kaneki still can't fully control the Centipede came into my head and I felt it worked a little better. But don't worry, the Esdeath friendship will come back to bite Kaneki in the ass.**

**Also read most of the manga up to Re. And I'm not going to lie, kind of depressing.**

**Third, I know for a fact that my grammar kind of sucks and spelling is off in some places(If not most). From now on I will be picking through my stories with greater care. Since I will be taking more care the chapters might take a bit to come out (Sorry)**

**So either way, thanks for making this take off and as always **

**If you found this, Thanks for reading :)**


	3. Alined Interests

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill **

**A few Days Ago **

"WAITWHAT?!" Tastumi asked in pure surprise.

Every member of Night Raid was in the main hall. They expected to hear what their punishments were going to be for failing to kill Ken Kaneki. Instead they heard something so outrageous they couldn't believe their ears "You heard me" Najenda said "Since you're the newest member of Night Raid your going to be working at Anteiku's as Ken Kaneki's waiter."

Everyone blinked again, the information still not sinking in. Hell, even Akame looked shocked. As soon as she shook off her confusion Mine raised a hand "Wait Boss, no affiance I'll agree to anything that makes the new guy suffer-"

"HEY!"

"But just a quick question to make sure your not going insane or anything. WHY THE HELL ARE WE WORKING WITH THE GUY WE TRIED TO KILL YESTERDAY!" Mine screamed in outrage.

Everyone nodded in agreement "Don't get us wrong boss" Bulat chimed in "We trust your choices but for just this once can you explain this to us?"

Lubbock had been looking at Najenda for the whole conversation. That was normal but he seemed to be staring at her metal arm. His eyes widened when he figured something out "You had to replace your hand."

Najenda looked at her hand and nodded "Yeah, the last one got crushed."

"What!" Everyone screamed at once "Boss what the hell happened?" Leone asked

"I had a visitor last night. Ken Kaneki." Najenda said breathing in a puff of smoke from her cigar.

"Kaneki!? What? How did he find us?" Tatsumi asked.

Najenda reaches behind her and takes out a clump of cloth. It was the piece that Kaneki had ripped from Tasumi during yesterday's battle "Apparently Mr. Kaneki has very good tracking abilities."

Tatsumi looked down in embarrassment. No one said anything for a few moments till Akame asked the question on everyone's mind "Boss, what happened last night?"

Najenda looked down "Isn't that a story." she said before retelling the events of last night.

**Last Night **

_"Now, tell me what your big plan was. Start with the real reason that your trying to kill me." Kaneki ordered. _

_"What are you talking about?" Najenda asked._

_Kaneki sighed in frustration "Please don't play this game with me, it makes everything more complicated than it needs to be". _

_Najenda swallows her fear before speaking again "You killed a commanders son, we were given a job and-" _

_"Don't fuck with me!" Kaneki screamed in controlled anger. It took him a while but he regains his composure before speaking again "You are talking to someone who knows what he has done. General, I have killed so many people if you add two more to the pile it wouldn't make a difference. I tried to settle down, live a quiet life but I still can't stop committing these sins. After that night, I made sure that I knew every person I had every hurt here and do you know what I found out?" _

_Najenda didn't say anything, already knowing what he was going to say "Those men that I killed that night, couldn't be the son of any commander. I made that mistake nearly a year ago, no information that important would take a year to reach someone only a few weeks away. The men I killed were corrupt soldiers, trash that the world is happy that they're no longer on the earth. Then your little attack dogs come around a year later attacking me with false information." _

_Kaneki's grip on Najenda's human arm suddenly intensified till it felt like her bones were going to snap. She bit down the pain and looked into Kaneki's black eye "So tell me, why are you trying to kill me?" _

_Najenda tried to stop any shock or fear from coming on her face "The revolutionary army is gaining momentum." she started explaining "But the main army can't move any further without the capitol army in a scramble. We need an opening, that opening can come from assassinating any of the main generals or the prime minister himsel-" _

_She stops mid sentence as Kaneki starts laughing to himself. Once he had stopped laughing he looked at Najenda with a glance that said Really? "You actually think that you can take out the generals? General, you're going to need a lot more soldiers in your little band to pull that off" _

_"50 thousand men, 15 imperial arm users and Akame" _

_Kaneki head perked up "You've done the math" he said sounding mildly impressed. He let her go and he walked to the edge of the balcony that looked over the mountains and the forest. Najenda debated going inside and waking everyone but quickly decided against it. If Kaneki wanted to, he could've snapped her neck at any time. They both said nothing for a few moments as Najenda tried to think of the best option to her "So back to my original question. Why are you trying to kill me? I has to be something important, because you've made a few mistakes" Kaneki said._

_"Oh? And they would be?" _

_"Your just told a known comrade of General Esdeath the number necessary to beat her. You also admitted that the army needs a god sent miracle before it can regain its momentum and you weren't lying" Kaneki leans against the railing "So tell me General, what was your big plan?" _

_Najenda took a cigar with her good hand and placing it in her mouth. She lit the cigar "What is it like living in the capitol?" _

_Kaneki looked slightly disappointed "I'm not going to go into detail, but I would say that its not half bad. I stay relatively out of the way of the main army and I have my own business" _

_"But you can't stop yourself from killing the corrupt soldiers. You admitted it yourself and you weren't lying" _

_Kaneki gripped the railing, the stone slowly getting crushed. Najenda smirked "You aren't the only one who's done their research. Ken Kaneki, 22 years old, owner of Anteiku and a part time author. First and so far only novel Tokyo Ghoul became the best selling novel in the empire, making you financially stable for the next twenty years _

_Kaneki rolled his only visible eye, trying to make Najenda get to the point "You are an enigma to many in the army, both Revolutionary and Imperial for the simple fact that you shouldn't exist. There is no record of your parents or any known family, you just appeared on public record three years ago" Najenda continues "As soon as you get on record you get a house from a General and even a reputation as someone that can go toe-to-toe with both of the highest ranking Generals in the army. Hell, your first public appearance was you beating the crap out of twenty soldiers. Soon after that you became a one man police force for your part of town, to this day its the most crime free in the empire."_

_Kaneki was starting to get board of the history lesson "What's your point?" _

_"I'm proving that you don't like how the empire works just as much as Night Raid." Najenda explained "If you could, you would rip apart the structure of the empire as quickly as you could."_

_Kaneki chuckled "Listen I have no doubt that I could rip Esdeath apart if I had the chance. Actually I'm almost certain I could take her out with me if we came to blows, but you got something wrong" Kaneki's eye suddenly became clouded thinking about something "I've tried to make the world safe for those I care about. I all of my battles lead to more people dying then were needed and those I tried to save grew to hated me" _

_Najenda takes a step back and leans on the wall before taking a puff of smoke. Najenda looked at Kaneki, she remind him of a old soldier who had done everything he could, but the world came back around and told him all his efforts meant shit. She knew what he was coming from, but the difference between them is that Kaneki had given up, she hadn't ._

_"Well if failed once, will you try one more time?" _

_Kaneki looked up "Are you asking me to join Night Raid? Don't tell me that was the reason you went after me, you wanted to test me?"_

_Najenda nodded "I needed to know that the rumors were true. You went up against almost every member of Night Raid and without going all out you were able to get away with no injury. How did you accomplish that by the way? I heard that you ripped your hand apart, it looks fine to me" _

_Kaneki's eye narrowed "I heal quick." he said simply. _

_Najenda shrugs "Either way, I have to be blunt. Will you join?" _

_Kaneki thought for a minute. The new him wanted to scream no at Najenda before either killing her or eating her. But the old him, the one his friends wanted him to be saw this as a chance. Maybe, just maybe he won't fail. Najenda was starting to doubt he would say anything but he spoke up "I have a few conditions" he said finally._

_"Name them" Najenda said immediately. _

_"First, when you give send me on a suicide mission I know everything about the plan. Second, for mutual insurance I want one of your most trusted members working for me at Anteiku. You can give them the information to then transfer to me, it'll also give another of your people a nice cover. Third, when we're done the Imperial Arm Shambhala, I want it"_

_Najenda blinked "Shambhala? Why do you want it?" _

_"Personal reasons" Kaneki said coldly. He was able to read the book of known Imperial Arms because of Esdeath letting him in the castle for coffee deliveries. Shambhala was the closest thing to a way to get back to Tokyo with its teleportation abilities, it was a long shot but it was the best he had. _

_Najenda thought through the options that gave her the best deal, it was a very short list. She turns to Kaneki and holds out her hand "Do we have a deal?" _

_Kaneki took the hand gave it a firm shake "Deal" _

**Back to Night Raid**

"So in a sense you sold Tatsumi like a slave?" Sheele asked.

"No Sheele, not like a slave" Mine said "More like unneeded baggage"

"Screw you!"Tatsumi screamed

Everyone started laughing as Tatsumi tried to punch mine and the latter ran away mocking him the whole way. Najenda shifted uneasily in her seat, she knew that she just confirmed the support of a powerful ally but that ally was an mysterious one at that. Najenda figured that if Kaneki got a better offer from the empire he would take it. But she was the leader, and at the leader needed to make the gambles necessary for victory to be achieved. A crashing sound broke Najenda from her chain of thought. Mine had lead Tatsumi into attacking her and the resulting slash of his blade knocked over a vase. The dirt was all over the floor and Bulat was punishing the two for their incompetence. Najenda allowed herself a rare smile and of course Lubbock noticed "Enjoying the show?"

"What would you expect? These soldiers are one of the best things to happen to me"

The two of them sat where they were looking on their friends with silent amusement. After a while Lubbock asked the question "Can we trust him?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know" Najenda admitted "I just know that if we can't trust him we can use him"

"Thats a double edged sword and you know it. I'll trust you but if this gamble of yours doesn't work out-"

"You don't have to tell me, I already know"

"Either he will help bring us victory or we'll all be heading to hell together with him as our conductor" Lubbock said

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious" Najenda said, her smile still not there "Hey idiots! If you want to start something take it outside!" she ordered as Tatsumi and Mine's argument was escalating.

As it turns out Lubbock couldn't be more right.

**Anteiku (Present) **

Kaneki picked up the glass of coffee that was in front of him. He allowed the steam to exit the glass before taking a sip "Again" he said distastefully.

"Oh come on!" Tatsumi complained "Thats the tenth glass!"

"And you will make a hundred if you need to" Kaneki responded while dumping the contents of the coffee pot and the glass into the sink "We have an hour before we open. Again" he ordered.

Tatsumi sighed but he went to the counter and started the process of turning the beans into grins for the pot. It was six in the morning at Anteiku and both Tatsumi and Kaneki were in Anteiku waiter suits. Tatsumi had arrived the night before after getting all of his things out the base. Kaneki remade an extra storage room into a makeshift room for Tatsumi to stay in. It was a little cramped but Tatsumi made himself at home, until of course he was needed. Kaneki woke him up at four in the morning for "_practice". _He was under cover and as such he has to keep the reputation of Anteiku as pristine as ever which meant learning proper manors, edict training, how to properly put on the suit and last and most importantly how to make a proper cup of coffee. After the tenth failure Tatsumi was praying to the gods above that Kaneki would give up but he seemed to have the patients of a hundred men.

Kaneki watched silently as Tatsumi poured the water into through the grins and the paper. He sighed and walked over "Again you're not doing it correctly. I've told you twenty six times now, when you are pouring make circles and swirls through the grins. This gives it the time for everything to mix properly and the flavor to properly mature."

Tatsumi set the hot pot of water down on the counter next to him "Can I see you do it again?" he pleaded clearly not wanting to keep going.

Kaneki granted him the mercy he was wishing for and he took his place at the counter. His hands quickly crushed the beans and grinded them with the speed of a practiced veteran. Within seconds he was pouring the water through the grins, making circles and swirls as he went. Once the water was done sinking through Kaneki poured himself a glass and Tatsumi one as well. Kaneki took a sip before offering Tatsumi his cup "No thanks" he said "I don't drink coffee"

"Have you ever had it before?"

"Once when I was little"

"Then you have no excuse" Kaneki said forcibly putting the cup in Tastumi's hand.

"…Look Kaneki I don't mean to sound rude or anything but I really don't need this. Coffee is something I drink and I've never drank a whole glass before. My first experience was not very pleasant, I thank you for the offer but I-" Kaneki quickly puts the cup to Tatsumi's lips forcing him to take a drink.

Tatsumi got over his shock and then he looked at his glass "Sweet black nectar of the gods were have you been all my life?"

Kaneki smirked and he took another drink. The two drank in silence, the only noise being Tatsumi's uneasy shifting. Kaneki glanced at Tatsumi "If you have something to say, say it"

Tatsumi was looking down, clearly thinking of how to word his question "Kaneki, why a café? I mean from what I've seen you could be an Admiral or even a General in the empire with your strength. So, why?"

Kaneki chuckled "You know General Esdeath comes to my store almost every day that we're open and tries to convince me to join, your asking the same question I hear near every day."

Tatsumi shifted away, sorry he asked. Kaneki looked at him, "_He doesn't trust me, and when he does everything will become far smoother" _Kaneki thinks. He straightened and walked to the sink to clean out his now empty glass "Why a coffee house?" Kaneki asked cleaning the dishes and grabbing Tatsumi's attention "Well, its because this is where the old me felt the most at home. I was in an accident and it changed me, not for the better. I was scared and confused in a world that I never wanted to go to. Then a group of people took me in, they were from a coffee house named Anteiku. For a time I was happy, I felt safe, I trained to become stronger, I became an older brother to young girl and I think I might've fell in love." He sat the now washed up on a rack to dry.

Tatsumi was listening to the story while sitting in a chair located next to the counter "What happened?" Tatsumi asked.

Kaneki froze mid movement in putting a pot on the drying rack. Kaneki thought of everything that happened, Yamori's attack, the torture, and the white roses changing to red. The formation of his own group just to protect the people that first took him in but-"The world reminded me that the road to hell is paved with good intentions" Kaneki said coldly.

Tatsumi looked at his new employer in silence. Kaneki didn't say it but Tatsumi could guess that the parts he didn't tell were more painful then most can go through. Tatsumi picked himself up from the chair and puts the dishes were Kaneki had told him where they were kept. The two worked in silence after that, cleaning up the counters and making sure everything was in the right place. Eventually the time came for Anteiku to open and as soon as the sign changed from closed to open costumers started pouring in. Kaneki made Tatsumi go around taking orders so that he could make a few extra pots just in case. Tatsumi surprised Kaneki on how fast he adapted and memorized everyone's order. With the two of them there, no customer was left untreated and everything was going smoother than Kaneki expected.

Tatsumi held the door open as customers left after the morning rush had finally ended. He was closing the door just as someone's hand came in between the wall making it impossible for the door to close all of the way. Tatsumi immediately opened the door again as fast as he could "I'm so sorry sir!" he quickly apologized "I didn't see you there!"

The man who walked through the door was distinguished by everyone their, a messenger for the emperor. He walked past Tatsumi and went up to Kaneki at the counter. He said nothing but he produced an envelope and he handed it to Kaneki before walking out of the still open door. Tatsumi watched the man leave before closing the door and heading over to the counter "What's that about?" he asked.

Kaneki shrugged in response before tarring the envelope open. He quickly read the contents of the note before throwing it away and walking over to the suit closet, putting away his apron. Kaneki straightened his tie "I've been ordered to take some drinks over to the castle." Kaneki said "Apparently the prime minister wants me to meet him and General Esdeath."

Tatsumi visibly paled "What are you going to do?"

Kaneki went over to the counter and he started pouring the contents of a travel container "I'm going of corse. I am of course a normal café owner, I need to keep up appearances." He said sarcastically.

Tatsumi blinked "You're trying to make a joke right?

"If it makes you feel better I'll say yes" Kaneki walked over to the door with the traveling casket "There are three pots of coffee on the heaters don't let them get cold or go stale. Good luck" Kaneki said closing the door behind him. Tatsumi stood in the middle of Anteiku just realizing that he was alone in the café that he barely knew how to run. Tatsumi gulped and waited for someone to order.

Kaneki walked through the streets at a quick pace, determined to get to the castle in a modest amount of time. Kaneki got to the gate of the castle and saw a welcomed sight. The guards were standing at attention but that was stretching the meaning of the phrase. They were lazy, barely keeping their weapons up but as soon as Kaneki came into view they stood up and soluted him. Kaneki didn't expect this but it didn't really matter if he was surprised "I have-" he started.

The gate opens up immediately, cutting Kaneki off of his rehearsed words. The guards gestured for him to go through. Kaneki didn't even spare them a glance as he walked through, the sound of the gate closing behind him. Going through the ground Kaneki saw familiar sights, the guards going their rounds and a few servant girls being hit on by said soldiers. Kaneki went to the usual meeting place he was assigned when delivering coffee and he found Esdeath there. She was sitting down at a table wearing her normal attire, she was reading a report in front of her when Kaneki walked in. When she heard his foot steps she looked up from the report "I see your on time, like normal" she said.

Kaneki did his best bow "It would be unfitting for me to show up to the prime minister's invitation. Where is he by the way?"

"Working with the emperor." Esdeath said "Which means I get the first glass." she held out a royally decorated tea cup. Kaneki quickly closed the distance and poured the coffee into the cup. Esdeath takes a drink and then gestures at a empty seat next to her and Kaneki sits down. He pours himself a cup of coffee before asking "Is this another recruiting mission?"

"No" Edeath responds "I'm not going to be the one doing the talking."

As if on cue, a door to the meeting room opens up to revile the most hated man in the whole empire. The prime minister was a fat disgusting pig of a man and the very sight of him made Kaneki want to rip him apart. Not eat him, he would taste like shit, that was almost certain. Kaneki clenched his fist but he kept him face in a nice smile, he said nothing but he stood in bowed to the prime minister. The minister was eating a hunk of meat that he tore apart in his hands before shoving it in his mouth. He goes and sits down at the head of the table "Sorry but this work is making me eat to much. Sit down Captain you don't need to stand for my account"

Kaneki arched an eyebrow "Are you referring to me minister?" he asked.

"Why of course boy!" the minister exclaimed "You are a man who can stand up to even General Esdeath and Budo. Along with the fact that you a known loyal imperial citizen and that Esdeath will make you part of her imperial guard, I have made it my duty to make you a captain if you should ever join."

Kaneki blinked, he then shot a glance at Esdeath who was drinking her coffee in bliss. Kaneki sat back down and waited "I have you here for a reason but we can get to that later."

"So we have to talk to the guy and not fight him?" a gruff voice asked.

"Yes" a more controlled voice said.

"We thats boring I heard he was strong and I want to fight strong people!" the gruff voice complained.

"Your loud again" a third voice said disappointed "Anyway we here now"

The voices came from a hallway that joined the meeting room and from it three figures appeared. One was a tall man with huge dark blond hair and what looked like to be black devil horns on his head. He had a battle axe on his back that Kaneki guessed was a Imperial Arm and his eyes were pure white, no irises at all. The other one standing there was a face that Kaneki recognized, Former General Liver. The last one was a short young man that looked innocent enough but Kaneki knew that he was crazy in some way. The three of them represented Esdeath's personal guard, the Three Beasts. The Three Beasts bowed towards the group at the table "Please to make your acquaintance, Master Kaneki" Liver said lifting his head.

"You don't need to give me respect Liver" Kaneki said, trying his best to sound respectful.

"Ah but I do. We have heard tales of your exploits and I must say, your novel was quite exceptional" Liver responds.

"We aren't here to talk about books" Esdeath said stopping the conversation from going any further. He held out a note and the big man of the three beasts picked it up. He smiled a mad smile and laughed before handing the note off to Liver and the other man. The two quickly skimmed over the contents. Liver placed the note on the table and the three bowed again "I apologize for the inconvenience." Liver said "But it appears that we are need elsewhere. Minester Master, Kaneki."

Just as quickly as they came, leaving through the door they came. Kaneki glanced at the note and his eyes widened. The three beasts had a new target, Night Raid. The order said to use any means necessary to draw them out. There was a list of suggestions, they started with the complete annihilation of a town.

**Authors Note: **

**Well heres another chapter and I need to make something clear. I don't want to sound ungrateful for all of the reviews telling me to pump these chapters out one after the other but there lies a problem with that. I am currently knee deep in studying for exams and basic school work that comes with being a student. It wouldn't make me happier to give you guys these chapters as fast as I can write them but that will have me running the risk of over production with a drop in story quality(Plus the cannon AGK updates every other month so theres that). I'm sorry if I sound like a complaining guy but it had to be said. On that note by the time summer comes around I can plan to amp up production to the point that there is like three chapters every few days. So please be patient with me and again thank you. **

**Also to those of you who were wondering why Tatsumi was able to cut Kaneki last chapter. My reasoning is that the people in AGK are overpowered enough to be considered ghouls in their own right (Look at the chapter in the manga where one of the generals called down a freaking lightning strike with his imperial arm).**

**So idea time, I was thinking of giving Kaneki and Imperial arm. The problem is that I don't know witch one he should get and if there isn't one that is in cannon that fits him I'll make one up. So if you guys have any ideas on what I should give him, PM me or give it in a review. (That includes made up ones to) **

**By the time that this chapter is up I should have a poll weather he should have one or not on my profile page. So please, give it a look and vote. **

**Other then that, my grammar still sucks (No surprises there) so again, sorry that you have to read this in bad grammar. **

**So if you found this, Thanks for reading :)**


	4. I am a Ghoul

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill **

**Meeting Room of the Castle **

Kaneki watched the three beast leave the room out of the corner of his eye. He gave no indication that he was interested in where they were going but he had to make sure they were gone. Right now he had to finish this conversation and give Tatsumi the news. Once Night Raid knew what was going on he could step to the side. Kaneki returns his attention to the minister, who was still ripping apart the meat in front of him with fierce gluttony. Once he finished the piece in his mouth he looked across the table at Kaneki "Now, I can see that you want to get down to business so we shall, but first tell me about yourself. I've heard the story from General Esdeath many times but I would like to hear your side of the story, fill in a few details that the general can't give me."

Kaneki took a deep breath and then side in annoyance so slight that only Esdeath caught on. She said nothing and continued to drink from her glass allowing Kaneki to continue "I don't see what I can give you." Kaneki said "I arrived in the capitol three years ago in the forest outside with little to no memory of who I am or where I came from. All I can remember is that my name is Ken Kaneki and I'm from a far away city named Tokyo. I know nothing else but I know that I was trained in hand-to-hand combat and my skills speak for themselves."

Kaneki had repeated this story to everyone in the army who wanted his _official _past. He told Tatsumi differently only for the reason that he needed Night Raid to not suspect him of being-, Inhuman. The prime minister nodded his head "My condolences for your memory, for as far as we know you had a family that you left."

"If I had a family I doubt I would've left them." Kanki responded "A family is something a want more then anything, so if I willing gave one I had away." Kaneki's eyes became clouded before returning to focus "Then I am little more than scum."

The minister snorted "So a man who appreciates family. I can see the good in that, thou not that much."

"Its the values that I awoke with. I don't need your opinion what is not yours." Kaneki responded firmly.

The minister slams his hand on the table enough to make it rattle a bit and pointed at Kaneki with his other hand "That right there!" he exclaimed "That right there, there are a total of three people in the empire who have the guts to talk back to me. To top it off there is only two who have the might to back up such boldness."

"Generals Budo and Esdeath I assume?" Kaneki asked.

"You assume correctly." The minister confirms "Well now that list has a new member and I'm sure you don't mind being added. Well even if you do I want to ask you the question I called you hear for-."

"I told your general over a hundred times that-."

The minister held up a hand, stopping Kaneki from continuing "I know of Esdeaths attempts to persuade you. You are her friend and she yours, I'm here as the prime minister, not your friend." The minister said leaning in.

Kaneki copied the lean "I fear Esdeath more than I do you, so I'm pretty sure I can say no to you as easy as I do to her."

The minister raises an eyebrow and he smiles a sick smile "That confidence, that bravado, those eyes that have seen hells that would break a lesser man. You have no idea how much I want you in the army and I have yet to see you fight, I'm shaking in excitement." The minister waved a hand and a servant girl ran to the table with a scroll and quill in her hand. Another girl came over with an ink well and the minister passed the items over to Kaneki. Kaneki opened the scroll and read what was on it. He looked up back to the minister with a questioning glance "This just says wishes." Kaneki said dryly.

The minister nodded "I am prepared to give you everything you wish in order to get you to join. You can have all the money, rank, power and woman you desire. Just write what you wish I will see to it that it is delivered to you."

"Your willing to do all this for me? I think the reports of my skills might be a bit over exaggerated." Kaneki said.

"They aren't." Esdeath said finally speaking "I wrote them myself, and I included that little trip you had in the desert."

Kaneki's eyes narrowed at Esdeath but she just smiles and looks over at the minister. The minister just nodded smugly "If a general of the army says that you went into a desert to for one week without any food or water and you came out wearing the skin of an mega-ultra class danger beast as a coat. If that is the truth, then who am I do deny you the rank you deserve."

Kaneki eyed the scroll for a few moments. The story of him in the desert wasn't far off. He had been forced to run away so he wouldn't hurt anyone, but he was so hungry he would've eaten anything. He rolled the scroll back up and picked it up "I'll think about it. If the answer is yes my wishes will be written on the scroll, if my answer remains no then nothing will be on this scroll."

The minister smiled "I look forward to getting it back. Now, the general and I have some important things to discuss and I'm sure you need to return to your _coffee, house"_ The minister said the words as carefully as he could but he almost seemed disgusted to utter them.

"Yes, I'm sure a lot of your regulars are sitting in their seats getting anger at their waiter not being there." Esdeath said with a sly smile.

"Thats not a problem." Kaneki said getting up "I just hired a waiter, he should be taking care of everything."

Esdeath blinked in surprise "Who is he?" she asked.

"A young man by the name of Tatsumi He's thinking of joining the army but he needs to get his feet underneath him before he can make a decision. I was going to tell you but you didn't come in this morning and as such I couldn't introduce the two of you."

"I look forward to meeting him."

Kaneki bowed to the two of them "I'll show myself out." he said.

"Goodbye Kaneki." Esdeath called.

As soon as Kaneki was out of earshot the minister started to chuckle "So that was the famous watchmen of the capitol square." He said picking the leg of meat and taking a bite "I must say he is perfect."

"Most would put him off as an average man." Esdeath said "He doesn't have much in terms of menacing muscle."

"I don't give a damn about how big he looks. His eyes were those of a beast, a killer, one who has fought to get the strength they now wield." He claps his hands together "I think I know of something to sweeten the deal with him."

"And that would be?"

"If he truly does join us then he needs a weapon that benefits his station."

Esdeath felt a smile touch her lips "Which one did you have in mind?"

The minister waved a finger "That would ruin the surprise wouldn't it?"

**With Kaneki**

Kaneki walked looking down at the scroll in his hand. The offer was….Tempting. He wasn't going to lie to himself and say that he wasn't interested. He knew that if he joined the empire he could live a life of luxury that he couldn't even dream of when he lived in Tokyo. Then again he couldn't dream of half of the things that had happened to him in the past three years. Kaneki looked at the upsides, he would be rich, powerful, and he might even be able to start a family. The image of him and some woman settling down and raising a few children made him chuckle. He looked up to the sky and thought what it would be like if he could still be with everyone at Anteiku, how would life be right now? Since he was deep in thought he didn't notice where he walking till it was too late. He ran into someone and they both dropped something. Kaneki dropped his scroll while the woman he ran into dropped what looked to be a dog "Sorry about that." Kaneki said leaning down picking up his scroll.

"Its ok, in fact my Justice detectors are going crazy so do you need some help?" she said with a kind smile.

Kaneki looked up at her and he finally look at who he ran into. She was about 17-18 with reddish brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail into two spot. She wore the same armor that all imperial soldier wore except without the helmet. She looked kind enough but Kaneki could tell something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it but she seemed, off. The only other person he felt like this around was Esdeath, and that wasn't good however you looked at it. Kaneki forced a forgiving smile on his face "No but thank you anyway. Sorry about running into you like that." he held out a hand "Ken Kaneki."

"Seryu Ubiquitous" Seryu said shaking the hand "And this little ball of truth seeking power is Koro"

The dog barked a few times in response and Kaneki's eyes narrowed "Is that an Imperial Arm?"

"Yes, he was sleeping in the doctors lab but he awoke around me when he felt my overwhelming determination to seek justice." Seryu said. Kaneki could tell this fact made her very proud so he nodded understandingly "Well he seems like the perfect partner for your mission. Tell you what, I own I coffee house just around the corner. For thanks, can I offer you a drink?"

"Which café do you own?"

"Anteiku."

Seryu's eye nearly busted out of her sockets "You're the owner of Anteiku!? Oh thats awesome, my teacher was a former regular of yours."

"Really? Who is he?" Kaneki asked.

Seryu's eyes started to get clouded with sadness "He was Captain Ogre, he was killed a few weeks ago by Night Raid."

"Oh, My condolences." Kaneki said. He made his voice sound like he was conveying empathy but in reality he couldn't care less. He had heard of Ogre's reputation and he was thinking of taking him out himself. Anyone that looked up to a man like that likely wasn't much better. Seryu looked like she was considering it but she shook her head "No, thanks for the offer but being in the same place as my master would bring back to many memories."

Kaneki nodded "I understand. I wish you good luck in whatever station you find yourself in."

"Thank you Mr. Kaneki." Seryu said running off.

"_Well, she's going to be annoying." _Kaneki thought finally getting back to Anteiku. He opened the door and saw that things were going pretty well. People were talking by themselves in their chairs and everyone had a drink in their hand. Tatsumi was currently taking the order of a young couple, he was furiously writing on his notebook "..And was the for here or to go?"

"To go." The man said.

Tatsumi puts his pen and notebook away "Coming right up." he said walking back to the counter.

Kaneki meets him there as he puts back on his apron "Keeping things under control?" he asked his new waiter.

Tatsumi laughed nervously "Yeah but actually, were starting to run out of the coffee that you left for me."

"Well I'm back, so I might as well set a good example." Kaneki said. From that moment until closing Kaneki and Tatsumi continued to be the well oiled machine of Anteiku. Once it was closing time it took a while for everyone to leave because the two waiters seemed to be putting on a show. After realizing that they needed to move a little faster they started throwing cups and orders across the room to get them to the customers as quickly as possible. There were one or two close calls admittedly but in the long run everything was perfect. Each time they managed to catch something perfectly the customers started clapping, and since it was going so well Tatsumi thought they could mix it up a little. They kept doing the same thing but this time they started adding flips and other tricks into the mix. People started pulling out bills and wanted to pay them for their acrobatics. Kaneki put out a tip jar and it was full before the hour was up.

When everyone was gone Kaneki and Tatsumi cleaned up the café as fast as they could so they could get to the base before the night was over with. Lucky tomorrow was Sunday and Anteiku wasn't open on sunday so Kaneki and Tatsumi could work with Night Raid. Once everything was finished they put their suits away and changed into more casual attire. Tatsumi in his gray jacket and jeans and Kaneki in black coat and dark jeans. Kaneki closed the door behind them after they left the store and after Kaneki made sure no one was watching them they took off at a fast jog.

They sped through the trees with the same grace as the animals around them and neither warrior spoke for some time. They came upon a clearing on the path to the mountains and Tatsumi sped up so he was next to Kaneki "So, why do you wear that eyepatch?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Kaneki said, his tone a little annoyed.

"I just ask that your eye seemed fine when we…Approached you last." Tatsumi said hesitantly.

"You attacked me." Kaneki said bluntly "Don't dance around the fact just say it."

"Weeellllllll." Tatsumi said nervous.

Kaneki sighed "Look Tatsumi, you really need more confidence in your actions. You're part of a team that is going to change the world. The things you do now will be told for centuries, have faith that the choice you make is the right one." Kaneki said the words with experience that he shouldn't know. Tatsumi stared at Kaneki's back as he falls behind. The feeling of remembrance pasted over him, Kaneki remind him a lot of Akame. They both were around his age but they had gone through so much more and they seemed far older than they really were. Tatsumi already had the overview of Kaneki's past but the facts that made them more detailed he never told him, and with that last statement Tatsumi was pretty sure he didn't want to know anymore.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of silence they arrived at the base. Tatsumi went up to the front entrance and he knocked on the door. It opened on the second knock and Lubbock stood in the doorway. He eyed Kaneki with suspicion but he let them both in without question. As soon as they were in Tatsumi was swarmed by Mine and Bulat. They asked him questions about how his first day at work was but Kaneki walked past them to Najenda. She was sitting on her chair in the center of the room and she was smoking. She looked at Kaneki and puffed out some smoke "You look better without the white hair." she commented.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Kaneki said "I have some information."

"Go on." Najenda said suddenly serious.

"The three beasts have been ordered to draw out Night Raid. They've been ordered to take as many lives as they can to make sure that they succeed."

Najenda's eye widened slightly but that was the only indication she was surprised "Do you know their first target?"

"A small town at the edge of the empire." Kaneki said "Beyond that I don't know."

Najenda nodded but both her and Kaneki looked over when a voice cleared his throat. It was Lubbock and he looked a little pissed "Care to explain how you got this information?"

"A good friend I have named Esdeath." Kaneki responded. There was no reason to hide it, he and Esdeath talked near everyday and she spouted military secrets like they were going out of style. Normally she wouldn't say anything to anyone but Kaneki rarely ever left the capitol so there was no harm in that. Lubbock raises an eyebrow "And did you say anything to her? Like who your new ally's are?"

Najenda shot him a glance but simply Kaneki chuckled. He walked over to Lubbock and patted him on the shoulder like an old friend "If I was going to betray you, you would be dead at my feet already. Remember we are partners to a common goal, but if you become a hinderance I'll kill you." Kaneki whispered into his ear so no one could hear, he didn't say them as a threat, he said them as pure fact. Lubbock broke into a cold sweat and he looked at Kaneki with a look of absolute terror. Kaneki smiles warmly to him before walking away leaving Lubbock and Najenda to themselves. Lubbock walks over to the pillar next to Najenda's chair, breathing heavily "What did he say?" Najenda asked with a tone that already knew the answer.

"Take a guess." Lubbock said.

Najenda looked at Kaneki's back "Keep an eye on him, at all times."

"Can there be shifts?" Lubbock asked nervously.

**The Next Day**

Everyone was doing their normal morning routine at the base. This ranged from Akame eating…What ever she could get her hands on. Bulat and Tatsumi doing training in the yard while Leone looked on and Mine shouted horrible encouragement. Sheele was reading a book inside and Kaneki despite himself was sitting outside near the training yard writing in his note book. After the success of Tokyo Ghoul people have been pestering him with a sequel, so since he didn't need to train and didn't need to eat anything for obvious reasons he was writing up a rough draft for the storyline of the next book. Kaneki didn't see how there could be a sequel, the main character was dead and half of the supporting cast as well. There was another reason he didn't want to write a sequel, he didn't know if everyone that was left had found happiness. He wanted to wish that they did but he doubted it. In Touka, Hinami and everyone else as well, he was dead, the manager was dead and Anteiku was destroyed.

Kaneki was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Bulat and Tatsumi call for him until Mine walked up and blocked his light. He looked up at the short girl "Can I help you?"

"You have been called and its getting annoying to hear your name being called over and over again." Mine said , clearly mad at something.

Kaneki put down his notebook and gets up. He walks right by Mine without sparing her a glance "Rude." she comments.

Kaneki ignored her and kept going to the training yard where Tatsumi and Bulat were doing push ups with Leone on Tatsumi's back and Akame on Bulat. Bulat was barely looked like he was working, pumping out push ups like lightning. Tatsumi on the other hand was straining to do one every couple of seconds "You called?" Kaneki asked the two. He had one eyebrow raised in question and he shot a quick glance at Leone "Bulat says that Tatsumi needs more intense training so we decided to help them out."

"Yes, I man must train every day in order to keep himself in shape. You were just sitting there like a bum so I thought, Lets see what the new guy is capable of." Bulat said while he continued doing his workout.

"I don't do pushups." Kaneki said, wondering why he had been called for something so stupid.

"Oh? You to good for this sort of workout?" Tatsumi asked in between breaths. His arms were shaking from keeping Leone up and Kaneki lightly tapped his arm at the elbow causing him to buckle and fall down. He yelled in pain as Leone came down with him "Hey what the hell!?"

"You were about to collapse anyway, I was only helping the process." Kaneki said. It was a dick move yes but Tatsumi obviously couldn't see the damage he was doing to his body without him noticing.

"Oh yeah!" Mine said walking up to him "Lets see you do push ups!"

Kaneki rolled his eyes and he got into a pushup position. He began doing normal push ups at an average pace before picking it up. He did them faster and faster till he was doing them faster than Bulat. He then stopped using his full hands and used only his pointer fingers to push himself up. He then switched to one handed, one finger push ups before balancing on one hand and making himself go vertical. He did twenty vertical push ups before repeating the procedure of going to one hand then one finger. After about two minutes of the vertical workout he pushed himself off the ground, did a backflip and landed on his feet "Thats why I don't do push ups, they're to easy."

Mine stared at him wide eyed, her expression shared by everyone in the room. Bulat grinned "Well Kaneki, you've proven yourself a man in training. How would you like a little spare?"

"Are you going to put your armor on first? Or are we only going to use training swords?"

Bulat simply got up and got into a fighter's stance. Kaneki copied his stance and everyone other than the two experienced fighters left them alone. Mine, Tatsumi, Akame, Sheele and Lubbock were lined up at the edge of the clearing. Mine raised her hand "Ready!"

Both fighters tensed.

"Set!"

Kaneki lowered his front hand, making it seem like he was braking his form early. Bulat noticed this tactic and shifted his feet to lower his center of gravity.

Mine dropped her hand "Go!"

Kaneki launched at Bulat, his lower hand going for a low palm strike while his top in an overhead blow. Bulat met Kaneki's lower strike with just enough force to divert the strike while he put up his free arm to block the overhead blow. Unfortunately Bulat miscalculated how much power Kaneki had put into his blows. First his tactic of breaking away from his stance was a classic case of misdirection, to confuse the opponent on which had held the more power. If you can guess correctly you can divert the blow and cause the two fighters in question to get into a draw. Bulat had expected the overhead blow to hold the more power, his worst mistake so far in the fight. The overhead blow connected against Bulats arm, it had no power at all. It was more of a love tap then anything. Kaneki's lower strike met Bulats and easily pushed the hand away. The palm strike hit square on Bulats chest sending the other fighter flying back at least five feet.

This forced Bulat to stumble back. Kaneki pressed his advantage, he jumped and did a midair spin kick aimed for Bulats face. Bulat managed to get both of his hands together in a attempt to block the attack but Kaneki's kick was too powerful for him to stop. Bulat was hit by the blow and forced flying back. Bulat skidded along the ground till he managed to flip back up to his feet. Quickly getting back to a stance Bulat rushed Kaneki. The two fighters met once again but this time Bulat was ready for Kaneki strength and he compensated accordingly. This time when the blows connected the fight was more or less even, at first. It didn't take long but it quickly but Bulat began putting Kaneki in a corner with a series of quick jabs and Kaneki was forced to play defensive. Normally he could pull out some more strength and turn this fight around but Kaneki wouldn't let the other know that he was hungry. He hadn't eaten I weeks and even though it didn't show he was tired. Normally if he was at top form the weapons of this place wouldn't even cut Kaneki's skin, but Tatsumi was able to get through his skin and straight through the bone. Luckily he can heal pretty quick but the event had some up sides. Other than Akame and Nejenda, no one knew of his true nature, yet. If he was forced to pull out everything he could do before they were ready, he wouldn't doubt they would try and kill him. The key word being try.

Kaneki was forced to the wall of the courtyard by Bulats assault. Kaneki felt his ghoul side take over and under his eye patch his eye turned black and his limbs filled with a familiar strength. Kaneki jumped up and since he was close enough he shot off the wall and landed on the other side of Bulat. Now Kaneki had the advantage and he took it forcing Bulat to back up against the wall. Unlike Kaneki the bigger man was unable to jump over Kaneki with the space the smaller fighter provided. Kaneki raised his leg in an axe kick, breaking Bulats guard when the attack came down. He swung one final strike that he cut shot just before he hit Bulat's neck "I believe I win." Kaneki said.

On the side lines, the ground was being distorted by the number of jaws crashing against the floor. Everyone but Akame was staring at Kaneki like he was a force of nature not a man. Sheele broke out of the shock first, and the airhead started gleefully clapping "That was amazing!" she called.

Kaneki backed away from Bulat and began walking away. While he walked away his hand went to his eyepatch to make sure it was still on and that no one had seen anything. He sat back down where he left his notebook and began writing again. After the group went into an awkward silence everyone continued to do what they were doing before the sparring match. Tatsumi eyed Kaneki warily but he held his tongue like everyone else. Kaneki lost track of time as he finished the story board. He saw a shadow go over him and he looked up to see Sheele "Can I help you?" he asked.

Sheele shook her head "No not really. Mind if I sit next to you?"

Kaneki looked at her questioningly but he shrugged his shoulders and she sat next to him. She was carrying a worn book, she opened it up and began reading. The two sat in silence for a while each of them just wanting to finish what they started. Finally Kaneki glanced over to see what she was reading and low and behold "Your reading my book." he said.

"Huh?" Sheele said. She then took a quick look at the cover '_Tokyo Ghoul by Ken Kaneki' _

"Yeah I've been reading it for a while now."

"It seems you've been reading it longer then a while." Kaneki said gesturing at the worn pages "How many times have you read it?"

Sheele put a finger on her chin in a thinking motion "I don't know I've lost track. But now that I think about it can you help me out with something?"

"What?"

Sheele opened the book to the first page. In printed handwriting were words that looked to be song lyrics. Kaneki smiled, he had written the words himself but in Japanese not the native language of the empire. The language barrier was something that Kaneki didn't expect when he first tried writing. The people of the empire spoke Japanese but the written language was something completely different. After finishing the final draft of Tokyo Ghoul he had to hire a translator to help him rewrite the whole book, but the lyrics in the beginning were the one thing he never translated. Sheele pointed at the lyrics "Can you translate for me? Or do you not know what it means either?"

Kaneki chuckled "It's a song, Unravel." he explained.

He let his head lean against the wall as he hummed to himself. Sheele sat silently and unknown to the two sitting there a large portion of Night Raid was listening in as well. Kaneki started singing his voice a soft and kind tenor "_Oh can you tell me, Can you tell me the way that this should work? Just who's inside of me? The monster pulling strings. I'm broken lying, helpless dying, surrounded by the world. You stare and laugh with me, pretending you can't see. Something has changed, way deep down inside, the pieces just don't fit. I'm broken now so why should I try to bear this pain within? Freeze. I'm braking yet unbreakable, I'm shaking yet unshakable, I'm searching yet I know I'm found. I stand here watching the world collapse around me. You're so close but I hope that you stop looking I don't want you to, see what I've become. I don't want to hurt those who I call my friend, I'm stuck with a nightmare someone else imagined. I will forget so remember who I was. So can you see, the monster pulling strings?_"

Once Kaneki was done he looked at his hands and for the millionth time was reminded of the parallels that song made in his life. He looked over at Sheele and she was holding back a smile. Lubbock came out from the corner where he was hiding and started clapping. He was joined by Tatsumi, Bulat, Leone and soon every member of night Raid was clapping at his performance. Kaneki blinked in surprise at the standing ovation before he stood up and gave a bow.

**Center hall (Midnight) **

Everyone was gathered in the main hall, each of them nodded as they were given their orders. Lubbock and Bulat were to go investigate a lead in a small town to the whereabouts of the Three Beasts. Leone, Akame and Tatsumi were tasked with taking out a hideout where human traffickers were said to be held up. Finally, Kaneki, Mine and Sheele were to go on patrol around the center square and take out any targets that manage to escape the other teams. Lubbock and Bulat went out first followed quickly by Tatsumi and company. Mine and Sheele were making sure their equipment was in prime condition before heading out. No one other than the two friends were in the room and the only sound they were making was that of metal sharpening metal. It was clear to Sheele that Mine was not a happy camper "Ok why do we have to work with the new guy?"

"Because the boss ordered us to." Sheele said bluntly "Do you have something against him Mine?"

"Do you want me to state them in order of relevance or alphabetically?"

"Alphabetically." Kaneki said seeming to come out of no where.

"WOAH!" Mine screamed in surprise. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down "Don't do that."

"You're the assassin. Shouldn't you be the one who sneaks up on other people?" Kaneki asked.

"Well thats one of them!" Mine said, her hands on her hips leaning forward accusingly "You have the biggest attitude out of everyone here. Since I'm at it I'll continue with the list. We don't know you, you could be waiting to kill us when ever. You could be a double against and to top it all off you threatened to kill out boss in order to join! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Kaneki looked Pumpkin on Mine's back "Can you hit anything with that?"

"UHG!" Mine fumed stomping away.

Sheele looked at Kaneki "You shouldn't do be that mean. We're all allies now after all."

"And that exactly why I'm being mean." Kaneki said walking forward "There is a great chance that not all of us will walk out of this. I'm being mean just in case an annoying asshole is easily forgotten and few tears are shed over their passing. I've made too many people cry over me, no one else needs to."

Sheele opens her mouth to voice a response but she nothing she can say can change that kind of thinking. She did the only thing and she walked after her friends.

The three warriors made the trip in silence. Kaneki took point followed closely by Sheele on his left. Mine elected to hang back "_So she can shoot me in the back if I try anything._" Kaneki figured. Kaneki burst out of the trees and landed on the roof of a nearby building. Mine and Sheele quickly followed suit and once again the three were off, jumping atop buildings using the roofs as the best road way. They got to the center of the business district and Kaneki stopped "Why are we stopping?" Mine asked.

"I need to run to my home and grab a few things." Kaneki said notchilontly.

Mine's jaw dropped "We are in the middle of a mission and you want to get something from your house?"

"Yes. I'll leave it to you, don't wait up for me hun." Kaneki said jumping down to the street. He sprinted off in the direction of his café leaving Sheele and Mine alone on the roof. Mine was trying her hardest not to start scream bloody murder at Kaneki's actions. Mine stopped on while Sheele followed behind her "Does he even know what the stakes are? We are in the middle of an assassination he he thinks Hey I'll pop over to my house and send the empire a message telling them what's happening because I'm on their side."

"Mine you shouldn't be so-"

"NO! Don't you go defending him. Sheele he may be your favorite author or something, but we don't know him. He could be an empire spy for all we know so he'll have to do something big to get my trust. Until then he's dead weight."

Sheele sighed and the two waited for a sign from the others. It took over an hour for anything to happen and in that time Kaneki had yet to come back witch made Mine even more confident in her assumption. The thing that happened was a scream that filled the night with terror. Normal people would ignore it, but Night Raid knew that sound as their cue to move. Mine and Sheele jumped down and ran towards the sound. They pass through a few alleyways to get to their destination, it was an open clearing in the town next to the forest. The two Night Raiders were about to continue through when a voice stopped them "STOP!"

They wiped their head around and they saw something that made Mine chuckle. It was a young woman soldier with a small dog at her side "Night Raid I will defeat you in the name of justice."

Mine laughed nervously "If you know who we are then you should know your going to die if you fight us."

The girl, Seryu smiled "Lets see shall we?"

"Well you asked for it!" Mine yelled bringing pumpkin around. Using her imperial arm she shot at Seryu with several energy shots "KORO!" she yelled and the whipped around and stood in front of her. Suddenly it grew to the size of a low level danger beast and the shots hit it in the stomach. It took the shots and almost as soon as they stopped coming the wounds started to heal from the shots. Mine blinked in surprise "Thats some life force." she commented.

"Yes, but nothing we can handle." Sheele said taking her imperial arm Extase off her back "We cut through it and meet up with everyone."

Mine nodded and she took a position behind Sheele. For a few moments neither side moved or did anything, till in the same instant Sheele and Koro jumped at each other. The Imperial arm jumped mid charge its gigantic teeth barred at the assassin. Sheele looked on with a emotionless face and with the quickness of someone with the name of assassin she cut through the beast in front of her horizontally. The two halves of the imperial arm flew past Sheele as she rushed towards Seryu who brought out a combat knife and lowered her stance. Sheele opened the deadly pair of scissors and slashed at the space where Seryu's head was just a second before. Seryu had dropped down and after she dodged the attack she came in with her own, she stabbed with the knife the tip aimed at Sheele's heart. Sheele closed the scissors and brought it in front of her as a shield. The knife hit the imperial arm and broke from the force but Seryu looked like she didn't care "Koro!" she screamed.

The Imperial arm, now fully healed lunged at Sheele while her back was turned. Right before it could hit her it was shot by an energy blast from Mine "You dumb mutt." Mine said looking at it through the sniper scope. She continued her assault, shooting the Imperial arm with blast after blast so that it couldn't get up.

Sheele turned her attention back to Seryu who was reaching to her back to grab a holstered weapon. Sheele lunged at Seryu with her weapon but something metal caught her eye. Seryu's arm began shifting and suddenly a gun appeared out of her forearm "DIE!" she yelled.

The gun fired but Sheele was able to block with Extase. She looked over Seryu with disgust "You can just die." Sheele said bringing her weapon to bare. Seryu in desperation she grabbed a grenade from her belt and through it at Sheele. Sheele tilted her head to the side the the metal ball went harmlessly past her. The explosion came soon afterwards and Sheele heard a scream of pain. She quickly turned around and saw something that no friend wanted to see. Mine was on the ground with burn marks going down her side. Seryu's grenade was never meant to hit Sheele after all, it was meant to hit Mine while she was keeping Koro gunned down. Mine was getting up but Koro had already finished healing and was charging at the downed assassin.

Sheele stopped attacking Seryu and ran as fast as she could to Mine's side. She got there just in time, Koro was just about to come crashing down on Mine. Sheele opened Extase to its maximum length and cut off the beasts head. Mine looked up at Sheele's smiling face "Thanks." Mine said.

"Hey what are partners for? Now we better-" A gun shot echoed through the clearing. Sheele turned her neck to see a gun barrel come out of Seryu's mouth and she was smiling a sick smile. Koro regenerated again and the imperial arm was coming towards them "SHEELE MOVE!" Mine ordered.

"I can't." Sheele said horrified. She could barely move her head and the only thing that effort gave rise to, was seeing her death jump at her.

"SIT!" A voice ordered.

Mine looked up and saw a black figure come down from the nearby building. It crashed into Koro and redirected the imperial arm into crashing into a tree nearby. The man was of average height and he wore a black battle suit. He had a mask that covered everything except his left eye and his hair was snow white. Mine blinked before she realized who it was "Kaneki?" she asked.

Kaneki looked at the two girls through his one eye "Are you two ok?"

Sheele tried to smile but the effects of the bullet were still in her system so she still couldn't move. Mine nodded "We are now. Sheele was hit by something and she can't move. As a plus that thing over their just won't stay down."

Kaneki looked at the imperial arm as it got up. It bared its teeth at the black suited warrior but Kaneki looked unimpressed "This won't take long." He said.

Mine raised pumpkin but Kaneki raised a hand "No, I'll do this on my own."

Mine looked at him in shock "Are you crazy! You can't take that thing!"

Kaneki sighed "Well I can but I don't want you to see. So, sorry about this."

"Wha-?" Mine asked before she felt something hit her in the back of the neck. Kaneki had moved faster then Mine would've thought possible and with one strike he managed to knock her out. Kaneki caught her right before she hit the ground. He carried her over to Sheele, she looked at him questioningly. Kaneki walked behind her "You'll have a better piece of mind if you don't see what's going to happen next."

Sheele couldn't do anything as Kaneki repeated the action he did with Mine. She felt darkness claim her and Kaneki caught her before she fell too far. He carried both woman to a nearby tree that was out of the way a bit. Kaneki walked back to the center of the clearing, Seryu and koro still standing where they were "Thanks for waiting." Kaneki said.

"Justice has given me enough patience to go through every test and trail. Besides." Her sick mad smile came back on her face "You just sealed your fate, evil man."

Kaneki said nothing but his eye rolled in its socket. Seryu scoffed "Koro, teach him some manners."

The beast imperial arm charged at Kaneki, its teeth ready to rip Kaneki apart. Kaneki jumped out of the way just as Kiro finally came in for the attack. He came down atop the beast and he punched its head in as hard as he could. The force crushed the skull of imperial arm sending blood splattering in all different directions. Kaneki pulled his hand out of the remains and he looked over at Seryu. She was still smiling like she knew and evil little secret. Kaneki heard a roar right before he felt the Imperial arm next to him made a mad grab at his ankle. Kaneki jumped and rolled out of the way and winced in pain as the fatigue started setting in again "_Seriously? I go all day without any problems and now I'm starting to lose it? Rize you have a fucked up sense of humor." _

Seryu took out twin pistols and began firing them at Kaneki while Koro redoubled his attack. Kaneki sprinted, he was able to dodge all of the attacks relatively easily and he jumped back to get some distance.

"Is that the best you got?" he asked. Kaneki was holding back the earge to sit down and take a breather. Ghouls can normally go months without eating and still be fine but apparently his ghoul half is biting him in the ass.

Seryu smiled a smile that made her look like the craziest person on earth "_Berserker mode_!" She said.

Her Imperial arm roared a defining roar and a cloud of smoke surrounded it. When Kaneki could see through the smoke he saw that the Imperial arm had changed, it was now blood red with muscles that bulged out from under its skin. It looked like it could rip apart most things like it was nothing "Ok, thats big." Kaneki commented.

Seryu pointed at Kaneki "Kill." she ordered.

Faster than Kaneki expected it rushed him and punched him hard in the stomach. Kaneki coughed up blood behind his mask before the force of the attack sent him crashing into the building behind him. The building toppled to the ground crashing onto of Kaneki. Mine and Sheele now lay undefended on the side lines. Seryu took a position next to her imperial arm and walked towards them "You think you can win against me? I am justice and _JUSTICE ALWAYS PREVAILS!" _

"Really?" A voice asked.

Seryu turned to the source of the voice in shock. It was coming from the collapsed building, and in the center of the ruble Kaneki was standing perfectly fine. He walked out of the ruble and started cracking his neck "Well then this is perfect. If your role is justice, then mine is clear."

Kaneki took his pointer finger and cracked it making a huge snapping sound that echoed through the area. Then, blood red mist started forming around Kankei's back, it condensed into two tentacle like appendages that pulsed with red energy. Seryu for once was at a loss for words and in her eyes the devil was walking towards her. Seryu stepped back "What the hell are you? What the fuck are those. _ARE YOU A MONSTER_!?" she demanded.

Kaneki smirked under his mask before cracking his finger again "Its simple to figure out you know. I am not a monster, I am a ghoul and these are the arms of my evil. Now, you called me something I am not. Allow me to teach you the difference between a monster and a Ghoul." Kaneki's kugene slashed at the ground around him, creating crevice 10 feet deep "Difference one, people know monsters. They are creatures that live in the darkness and feed off of those stupid enough to forget why they were afraid of the dark in the first place. Monsters keep some alive, so that they can live to tell the world of their power. Legends are written and stories are told, and so they are known all over the world. Ghouls don't make the mistake of leaving survivors. So tell me, have you ever heard of a Ghoul?" he asked.

Seryu saw the eye of the ghoul turn from white to jet black and blood red. With an animal war cry it jumped at her, and Seryu felt exactly it was like to be prey.

**Authors Note: **

**Some of you thought I was going to stick with cannon and kill off Sheele right here didn't you? **

**I'm sorry for stopping the story right before Seryu (I call her bitchfuckfacemagee) gets her ass handed to her, but if I put everything into one chapter it would feel a little bloated (My opinion/It isn't fully written/I'm lazy/I still have to study/I really should get back to school work/wow these slashes are getting long). I plan on making it bloody and quite painful in ways that might make me seem a little more sadistic than she is.**

**Another thing the poll has been up for a while but only about twenty people have voted so please go and vote. I know I hinted at him getting one with the minister but that is so open ended I can write circles around it. **

**I also want you guys to say yes or no to me adding in short little "Into the Past" segments. These would be short stories telling either the first time Kaneki fought an Imperial arm user or the story of why he went to a desert and the danger beast he fought.**

**As for Unravel, its my favorite anime opening of all time(Tank is up there but Unravel just barely beats it) so I had to include it somewhere and it will be refers back to later in the story. I took the english lyrics from multiple translations. Most of them coming from the cover's of NateWantsToBattle and UnknownSongbrid, give them both a look.**

**I wish to thank you guys again for making this story as successful as its becoming. 100+ followers (Achievement Unlocked) next stop 250 followers and then a recommendation from TV tropes (Doubt that will happen anytime soon but hey I can dream).**

**So if you found this, Thanks for reading :)**


	5. Tastes Like Shit

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill **

Seryu froze as the beast that called itself ghoul came at her. For a second she couldn't move, some primal part of her knowing that whatever she did wouldn't make any difference. She bit her lip enough to cut a gash in her mouth to force herself out of the fear "KORO!" she screamed.

Her imperial arm responded by jumping high into the air and slamming both fists down on the monster. Seryu jumped back to avoid the dust cloud and she nearly tripped. Once she righted herself she looked through the dust and saw Koro's siloet "Good work Koro." she said.

Koro didn't move "Koro?" Seryu said starting to worry.

Her fears were made reality when the dust fully cleared. Kaneki stood with his hand over his eyes in a 'What were you thinking?' gesture. The imperial arm before him was disarmed, figuratively and literally as Kaneki's kugene had ripped its arms off when its attack came down. Koro looked slightly confused before it saw Kaneki's kugene, a wimpier escaped its mouth. Kaneki chuckled, he then used the beast's own arms to beat it into the ground. Seryu watched in horror as her partner in justice was beaten to death with its own arms.

Kaneki let the beating go on for a minute before he looked at the bloody pile of mush that was Koro's body. He threw one of the arms away behind him but he grabbed the other with his normal hand. He unzipped his mask so that he could open his mouth to its full length, he then took a bite out of the arm. Kaneki spit out the piece "Oh I completely forgot, Imperial arms taste like shit." he tossed the other arm aside "Hopefully you'll taste better."

Koro started to regenerate but Kaneki put his hand in the mass of flesh and bone that was the imperial arm. He felt around till he found what he was looking for. His hand came out and he was holding a black orb that the flesh seemed to be attracted to. Koro's body began reforming around the orb and the act made Kaneki laugh. He tossed the orb up in the air where his kugene attacked the orb. In one swift movement the red arms grabbed a hold of the orb and crushed it into dust. As soon as the dust fell the Imperial arms remaining body stopped regenerating. Kaneki smiled behind his mast "Now that we won't be interrupted, we can get started."

Seryu screamed as she brought every single weapon she had out and fired at Kaneki. Kaneki simply walked towards her unmoving as the bullets hit his body but he looked like he was having the time of his life. Seryu fired again but everything came up empty. She dropped her firearms and reached for a grenade but Kaneki's hand grabbed hers. Without any problems Kaneki swung Seryu over his shoulder making her slam on the ground. He pressed her face down with his foot and with a quick motion he brought one of her arms next to him "Oh, you looked delicious you know?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Seryu said while struggling to get free but Kaneki's grip was too strong "I'm hungry." Kaneki said like that answered every question**. **

He then proceeded to break everyone of Seryu's fingers one by one making her scream in pain. Kaneki looked down on the girl, no, his _meal. _He knelt down "Do you want to hear a story?"

Kaneki didn't wait for a response "This little piggy went to market." he started. The sound of pain and bone being shattered filled the air as Kaneki bit off one of Seryu's fingers.

"This little piggy went to the farm."

*_Crunch* _The sound echoed as he bit another finger**.**

"This little piggy went to the store."

*_Crunch* _and another.

"This little piggy went far away."

_*Crunch* _and another.

"And this little piggy went wee-wee-wee all the way home. I know that's not how it goes, but you can't really understand me right now can you?"

Seryu could barely think clearly through the pain and she didn't respond to Kaneki's words. Kaneki gets down so that he was laying atop Seryus body "Are you in pain my dear servant of justice? Do you hate the feeling that pain gives you? You shouldn't be so mean to pain. Pain is your friend; Pain is your greatest ally. Pain is kind enough to tell you that your seriously wounded. Pain gives you a reason to change and do you know what the best thing about pain is?_ It tells you that you're still alive, so tell me. __**DO YOU FEAL ALIVE!?**_"

As he finished speaking he brought himself up from the ground, ripping Seryu's arm off her body in the process. But Kaneki wasn't done their, using his kugene he ripped off the legs that his arms were holding down in one motion. In a sense, Kaneki had ripped off every limb the girl had except her other arm and her head. As Seryu opened her mouth to scream Kaneki forced one of his kugene between her lips causing her to bite down "Shh, there are people trying to sleep. If you keep yelling you'll wake them up, have some manners."

Seryu bit down hard on the kugene in her mouth but doing no damage. Kaneki had her arm in his hand and it looked _delicious_. He took a bite and realized that it tasted as good as it looked. Like ghouls before him he lost himself in his short meal as he devoured the arm. Once he was finished his mouth was warm with the blood and Kaneki felt alive again. He looked back down at Seryu, who at this point had stopped moving, like a steak on a dinner plate "Well, if you insist."

With his full strength restored, Kaneki barely felt any resistance as he ripped Seryu's other arm off. Like the last he began eating before his teeth hit metal. He spat out the steel and looked at the arm again. Apparently Seryu had undergone body modification, a side arm was hidden in her right arm, next to the humerus. Kaneki rolled his eyes before removing the modification from the arm and contended eating. The second arm was just as good as the first and Kaneki licked his lips savoring the taste. '_Is this how Shuu felt?' _Kaneki thought.

He looked down and Seryu was crying. She muttered something that Kaneki couldn't hear "Speak up little miss, you have no limbs and a crushed chest it makes things you say hard to hear."

She spoke again but Kaneki didn't hear her. He bent down and with a quick strike he put his pointer and middle finger into her back making her scream in pain. Kaneki smiled "Thats better, now you know you can speak up. So from the top, what were you saying?"

"P-Plea…Please….Just…K-Kill me." She whispered in a desperate plea.

"Well since you asked." Kaneki sighed before bringing up his kugene to end it "Oh how beautiful you've become my little bookworm." a voice mused**.**

Kaneki flinched as if struck before he saw the one he hated most in his life. Laying next to Seryu was a beautiful lavender haired woman with pure black eyes and glasses. She wore a simple purple sundress that made her look pure and innocent, but Kaneki had learned the hard way how much of an act that was. Rize brushed her hand over Seryu's hair "You fought so hard to keep yourself somewhat human back home. yet here you are, gorging yourself on this girls body."

"A lot good eating ghouls and kugene did me." he countered his eyes narrowing to a angry glare. Rize was the whole reason for his life, all of the evil and all of the horrible things. Four years ago Kaneki was just a normal student living in tokyo. His days were uneventful full of studying, reading and hanging out with his friend Hide. That life was destroyed when Rize walked into the coffee house that was known as Anteiku. At first to him she was just a beautiful woman who loved books. The two of them sat down and talked the day away and just when Kaneki thought the day couldn't get any better, Rize dropped the act. She was an S class Ghoul, so when they were alone she attack him, nearly killed him and only a freak accident saved him. After waking up in a hospital bed Kaneki realized that he had become a ghoul because the doctor transferred Rize's organs into him. He did it in order to create a perfect one eyed ghoul, part human, part ghoul and stronger than both. Since the day he met Rize his life has been hell. If it wasn't for Rize, he wouldn't have become a killer, Hide would still be alive and his life would've been its normal boring self and Touka would've lived without crying over him. It was all because of_ her _and Kaneki felt his fist tighten into a fist**.**

Rize shrugged "It doesn't matter to me." she placed a hand on her chin thinking for a moment "Actually it does bother me. I was with you from the beginning but you shut me out and yet when Yamori got done with you I didn't have to do anything. You ripped your life apart all on your own, I so proud of you!" Rize said filling her voice filled to the brim with mock admiration.

Kaneki grabbed Rize by the throat. He knew she wasn't there but he could feel her flesh under his fingers and he slowly crushed her neck. Rize just smiled unaffected "Are you going to eat me again? Oh how cute that would be. I want to see what level of beast you will become after you kill yourself again."

"**SHUT UP!**" he snarled.

"Oh are you going to eat all of your cute little friends?" Rize smiled "Your little waiter, the cold airhead, the stupid soldier, the general or that black haired assassin. She even sounds a little like dear Touka doesn't she?"

Kaneki's grip tightened and a snap rung out as RIze's neck was crushed "_**Leave. Me. Alone.**_" he ordered.

RIzes head fell back but she kept _fucking _smiling "Oh its going to be fun watching you eat them." Rize laughed as her form began to flicker "Who knows, you might even consider them friends before you eat them. Won't that be lovely?"

Kaneki screams and drops her before slamming his fist against the ground with the intent of destroying Rize's head. She disappeared before his hand hit the ground but blood and brains squirted out none the less. Kaneki looked at where his fist had hit. The broken head of Seryu laid before him, her brains splattered over the ground and her blood covering his suit. He roared in animalistic rage at Rize before out of spite he began eating Seryu's body. He ripped through bone and metal like it was paper. At first he ate out of rage but he soon lost himself in delight as the blood covered him. It was discussing but in the end he had granted the girls wish of death. When he could finally see straight the only thing left of the soldier was small piece of armor. Kaneki put one hand on his head to try and keep his head from spinning as he got up and got went to Sheele and Mine. Luckily they were still out cold but they were starting to shift so they would be waking up soon. Kaneki picked them both up and started walking to the base.

**Atop The Castle Tower **

On the castle looking through a scope was a smiling General "Now that is something you don't see everyday." Liver said next to her.

General Esdeath had watched the whole battle through telescopes along with the Three Beasts. Each one of the three had a different take on what happened down there. Liver was currently trying to keep his dinner from coming out of his stomach. He was a former General and he had seen his fair share of disturbing things. What he saw down there however though, that took the cake as one of the most gruesome things he'd seen. Liver's companion Daidara how ever didn't even bother holding in anything and he vomited all over the edge of the railing. The big man kept at it till his body couldn't give anymore and then he slumped to the side "That was sick." he said.

"Indeed." Liver agreed.

"I thought it was cool!" Nyau said.

"You cut off peoples faces for fun Nyau. I'm not saying its a bad thing to do with our enemies but none the less its a little unnerving. Don't you agree general?" Liver asked.

He got no response from the Ice-Queen general. She was still staring at the battle ground, her smile growing with every second and Liver started getting even more unnerved. She started chuckling for a few seconds "Oh, he's going to be fun." she muttered to herself.

She turned to the Three Beasts "Have a wanted poster of its likeness put up immediately. Make his bounty equal to that of General Najenda."

Liver blinked in surprise "Is that really necessary mistress? I see the need for the poster but a reward that rivals the former commander is a little much."

"You saw what he did as clear as I did. He was a monster, ripping apart an Imperial Arm like it was nothing more than trash before a hurricane. What ever it is, its Night Raids new pet."

Esdeath walked out and the Three beasts bowed as she passed. Daidara slowly brought his head up "What should we call it?"

Liver raised an eyebrow at his partner but it was a decent question. They didn't have any intel on what the hell he was, what his voice sounded like or if it was even a he. Hell, they only had what they saw and even that wasn't that much. Esdeath stopped walking and she put a hand on her chin. She thought for a moment and her trademark smile returned '_Kaneki is going to love this.' _she thought.

"I don't need its name, I know exactly what to call it."

**Base of Night Raid (An hour Later) **

Thankfully for Kaneki, the walk back to the base was uneventful. He carried Sheele over his right shoulder and Mine under his left arm. They weighed less than nothing in his arms, his strength fully restored from his meal. Both of the had started stirring as he walked through the forest but both of them had yet to wake up. Keneki sighed in relief, most of his problems would be over for now. He wouldn't have any urges to eat any of them for a few more weeks and the chances of them hurting him were less than zero since his skin was back to its original density. Maybe Akame could do something to cut him with her katana but Kaneki could burn that bridge if it ever came to that. Kaneki passed through a clearing in the trees and he could see the base a little ways away. He sighed in relief "_Home free." _he thought.

Kaneki stepped passed the line of bushes that surrounded the clearing and something flashed in the corner of his eye. He reacted but whatever it was it moved faster. Lines of what looked to be of pure silver wrapped themselves all around Kaneki, binding his neck, hands, arms and legs. His arm was jerked from him so that he dropped Mine. The pink haired girl fell ungracefully to the ground and Kaneki's arm was bent so that he couldn't move it without breaking something. Kaneki checked what was binding him "_Strings. Lubbock that idiot."_ he thought.

Said green haired assassin walked out of the forest. Besides him was Bulat in armored form, Leone in her beast form, and Tatsumi, all of them brandishing their weapons. Bulat lowered his spear at Kaneki's chest "You have two seconds to drop our friend before I make you departure into the afterlife very painful. So, wants it going to be?"

"Feel free to try, you couldn't touch me in a fist fight I doubt that red stick is going to help you." Kaneki said sarcastically.

Everyone blinked in surprise "Kaneki?" Tatsumi asked.

"Last name shit sherlock first name no." Kaneki said rolling his eyes, but everyone else only saw one eye through the mask "Lubbock, remove your strings before I break them." Kaneki ordered.

Lubbock didn't make a move to remove the strings, if anything they started to get tighter. Kaneki looked at Lubbock "I'm waiting."

"And I'm not. What did you do to Mine &amp; Sheele?" Lubbock demanded.

"Um, Lubbock." Tatsumi started "I really don't think we should be doing this right now."

Lubbock's mouth hardened "And when are we going to talk about this? Have all of you guys gone insane? You guys, don't forget that this guy could be a spy just waiting to stab us in the back."

Sheele started moaning and Kaneki looked at the girl "Evening Sheele, sorry about the nap."

Sheele rubs her eyes sleepily "Its fine Kaneki. I was-Why are you in Lubbock's wires?"

"I'm a sleeper agent waiting for the perfect moment to kill you all." Kaneki said, his words dripping with sarcasm "Like when my targets were knocked out in front of me. I would wait until after I saved them from being ripped apart from a imperial arm and then I would strike them down in the dead of night. Lubbock, I'm a B-List writer and even I couldn't of written a more perfect assassination chance if I tried."

Tatsumi blinked "Are you trying to be funny? Because if you are please stop its not in any way unnerving."

"Noted. Now Lubbock, if I was going to turn against you guys don't you think I would've killed Sheele and Mine and not bring them back alive?"

"He has a point." Sheele said, her voice back to its normal calm.

Tatsumi looked at at Lubbock questioningly while Bulat dematerialized his armor and Leone turns back to normal. Bulat walked up to Kaneki and Slowly lifted Sheele off of him "Thanks Bulat." Sheele said.

"No problem." he responded.

Kaneki looked at Lubbock "Are you going to let me out now?"

Lubbock's eyes hardened "You said you can get out on your own, so do it."

Kaneki returned the hard look that Lubbock was giving him. Kaneki could understand the man's reasoning, he was a new variables in a unstable equation. Unknown variables must be eliminated or understood. Kaneki doubted that Night Raid would understand his _condition _if he told them. But Kaneki had a clear advantage, human instinct. These people were human, he wasn't, and that natural instinct was something he could exploit. Humans naturally fear everything they don't understand, they disguise that fear by calling it curiosity but it's only a mask to cover what they really feel. Growing up, facing your fears? There was no such thing, for every fear that you conquer a new one comes out of the shadows to replace it. Kaneki needed to show Lubbock something he didn't understand, he needed to show him fear. Kaneki looked at his bent arm, in the position it was in he couldn't take hold of the wires, so he twisted. Tatsumi, Sheele, Lubbock, Leone and Bulat watched as Kaneki's arm tore itself apart, twisting itself around. The muscles forced the skin to break apart and the bones connecting the arm shattered as they were twisted beyond their capability. When he was done Kaneki could take a hold of the wires and with one quick tug he broke the strings the bound him. With his arm now free he started ripping the strings around him apart like they were paper. Once he was out his arm quickly twisted back to its original position completely healed in a second. Kaneki took off his mask and brushed a hand through his white hair as he walked pasted the group. When he got next to Lubbock stopped and put a finger over his mouth "Shh, I'm the bad guy."

Lubbock hadn't moved since Kaneki had ripped himself out of the strings. As Kaneki smiled and moved away he was frozen in fear. That man, no, that _thing _just ripped apart his strings like candy paper, and he did it with a smile on his face. Tatsumi moved next to Lubbock "Are you ok?"

Lubbock slowly turned to face Tatsumi "You saw that, and you're ok?"

Tatsumi shook his head back and forth "No." he looks at Kaneki's retreating back "He's not human is he."

"No." Bulat said "At least he's on our side."

Lubbock laughed "Yeah, _our _side."

Sheele said nothing as she watched Kaneki walk away. She gathered her courage before shouting out "Kaneki!"

Lubbock's jaw dropped and Bulat and Tatsumi looked at each other then Sheele while Leone put a suggestive grin on her face. Kaneki stopped walking and turned around and waited for Sheele to catch up. When she did she put her hands together nervously almost in prayer. Sheele smiled warmly and Kaneki blinked at the gesture. The smile wasn't just some normal act that many of the assassins in Night Raid put up to make each other feel better. This smile was genuine, full of happiness and thanks, Sheele adjusted her glasses "Thank you Kaneki. Thank you for saving my and Mine's life."

Kaneki stood there wide eyed as he comprehended what Sheele just said. Kaneki sighed and returned the smile with the warmest he thought he could give "Don't worry about it."

Sheele blushed slightly at Kaneki's action, she had see Kaneki smile before but this time it changed. Kaneki's default expression was a scowl or a mad smile, Sheele saw neither of them right now. She saw Kaneki, the kindhearted writer and a friend. Kaneki didn't know why he was smiling but it felt right to do in this situation. Lubbock's jaw hit the ground with a smack "NO FUCKING WAY!" he screamed in astonishment.

Kaneki leaned over to the side so that he could look at Lubbock and Sheele turned around "I just watch a prime example of why we shouldn't trust the man and you start flirting?!"

"I like it." Leone said getting a glare from Lubbock. Leone put her normal smile back on in response to the glare making the green haired killer start imitating steam from his ears.

Kaneki shrugged and his smile was replaced by his neutral expression. He turned around and kept walking towards the base and Sheele, Tatsumi, Leone, and Bulat followed him. Kaneki looked behind him "Someone should probably get Mine before she wakes up with her face on the floor."

Tatsumi turned, spinning on his heel "I got it."

"Be careful." Bulat said "She's probably going to be mad with her face in the dirt."

"Got it." Tatsumi called. He walked over to Mine's sleeping form and Tatsumi leaned down "Mine are you o-" His sentence was broken as a punch he wasn't expecting hit him straight in the face. Tatsumi doubled over in pain as the pink haired sniper shot up "OK, KANEKI WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KNOCK ME OUT?! YOU BETTER HAVE AN EXPLANATION MISTER!"

Kaneki didn't call back because he was already at the door of the base. In response to Mine he opened the ground and closed it without a second thought, this action making Mine even angrier.

**Inside the Base (A few hours later)**

Kaneki was in the bases kitchen heating up a pot of coffee. In the room with him was Najenda, who was patiently waiting for her cup of coffee and trying her best to ignore the beating sound on the wall. Kaneki had wanted to discuss a few things with the former general privately, which made the over protective warrior Lubbock and the still mad sniper Mine voice their opinions of the action. Kaneki ignored both of their stated opinions and shut the door on them when they tried to get in, Kaneki even had to move the fridge in front of the door just to keep the two out. The two assassins in question were banging on the door and screaming for Kaneki and the former general to let them in. Kaneki was glad that he was no longer hungry because he was seriously considering removing them from any future problems. Kaneki finishes the pot of coffee and pours him and Najenda a glass "Thanks." she said.

Kaneki didn't respond, instead sipping from his cup. Kaneki became content with just sipping the pungent liquid till a thought struck him "Where's Akame? She wasn't with the welcoming party."

Najenda looked at Kaneki before continuing to drink "She's on a top secret mission."

"How secret?"

"Top."

Kaneki rolled his eyes "So. Are you going to put a chain on your guard dog or am I going to have to neuter the poor man?"

Najenda shot the Ghoul a hard look "Touch him and I will order your end."

"Sure you will." Kaneki said not carrying in the slightest "My question still stands. I can't work with you looking over my shoulder at everything I do and putting roadblocks in my way. If you're going to do those things at least do them so that I won't notice."

Najenda thought for a second before responding "For the record I never ordered anyone to directly keep an eye on you."

Kaneki chuckled "Yes you did say something like that, and Lubbock had asked something about shifts."

Najenda's glass fell out of her hands as she looked at Kaneki in shock. Kaneki smirked at the look and Najenda mentally reevaluated her earlier strategy. Najenda knew that Kaneki wasn't human, that much was plain to see. He was faster, stronger and had senses far more acute than what normal humans had. Najenda had been looking into Kaneki's past in the capitol, going through the notes she already had just in case she missed something. Everything she had turned up said the same thing that she already knew. Ken Kaneki was a normal business man, owning a café in the center of town. _'All of that is Bullshit'_ Najenda had thought. No normal man could outclass everyone on her team except Akame and defeat an Imperial arm user without one themselves. Najenda had demanded a report from Sheele as soon as she was able. From what she heard, Mine and Sheele were in a tough spot before Kaneki had literally flew in and kicked the imperial arm aside. Then Kaneki had knocked the two girls out and when they awoke Kaneki was in Lubbock's strings outside the base. It pissed Najenda off to no end that Sheele had been asleep while Kaneki had fought the Imperial arms user. She knew that was the moment when Kaneki had revealed what makes him what he is. It was the only answer to why he wouldn't just team up with Mine and Sheele to beat the User. He was that strong and here he was sitting without a scratch on him. He also seemed happier and healthier, like a starving child that had just had a big meal.

"Don't look so shocked General. I haven't been off the radar as well as I have these past three years without knowing what people are saying behind my back." Kaneki said putting his cup down. He pushed his chair back and got up, moving towards the closet that held a broom and dustpan. Najenda just watched him as he swept up all of the shattered pieces of glass on the floor. Once he had gotten all of the pieces he grabbed a towel and dryer up the spots that the coffee had gotten on. Once he was finally finished he got another glass and filled it "Try not to drop it." he said dryly.

Najenda took the offered glass wordlessly. Her gaze never left Kaneki as she watched him enjoy his coffee "And what happens to those who talk behind your back?"

The question stopped Kaneki mid motion of putting the cup to his lips. He raised an eyebrow "The same thing that would happen to those who found this place. The only difference is that I can do it in town and get away with it." Kaneki said mockingly.

"You're that overconfident in your abilities that you can do whatever you wish and get away with it?" Najenda said, her voice getting a steel edge to it.

"No." He said putting his glass down "I just know that the only one here with a chance to kill me is not here. She's on a 'secret mission', so I'm enjoying the time when it's mine."

Najenda sensed that she wouldn't win anything from Kaneki as long as he was high on his own might. She decided that it would be best to just ask "What did you want to discuss?"

Kaneki said nothing for a few moments "I want to know what your planning. As per our agreement I need to know what's going on."

Najenda shrugged getting up "When it's important I'll tell you." she said mimicking Kaneki's mocking tone.

Kaneki was not amused but he knew what someone wasn't going to tell him something. Najenda wasn't going to give him what he wanted until she had a good reason to. By good reason he meant enough firepower that can keep Kaneki back for a time. He waved the comment aside and sat still as Najenda started to leave. She moved the fridge out of the way and had her hand on the doorknob when Kaneki spoke up "For your information general, I know exactly what it's like to be powerless in a fight. Where I'm from, I don't even rank in the top five of my kind. I know there are stronger things out there, so what you call overconfidence, I call last rights."

"Do you intend to die?"

"If someone here can do that. Then they will be told forever as the human that killed a monster before it spread to the edge of the world. Who knows, maybe someone will write a book about it" Kaneki said getting up from his seat.

He walked over to the door the Najenda was about to open. He gestured for her to move over and Najenda stepped back. Kaneki knocked on the door twice and immediately that intended effect to reached "OPEN UP YOU BASTARD!" Lubbock screamed.

Kaneki thought for a moment of what he should say but in the end, he opened the door, hard. With one strong kick the lock on the door was blown off its hinges and it barely held together as it slammed into the side of the wall on the other side of its turn. Kaneki stepped through the now doorless door frame and he checked behind the door that he just kicked. Behind the door Mine and Lubbock were out cold, drooling with stars in their eyes. Kaneki looked back to Najenda "Send me the bill for the door if you really want to."

With that he starts walking back to the entrance. As he went down the halls he passes Tatsumi "Six in the morning, don't be late." he reminded him.

Tatsumi gave his employer a tired nod before walking away. Tatsumi heard Kaneki open the exit of the base and close the door behind him. He walked for a second before he noticed the door "What happened here?!" he asked.

Najenda looked at the downed Night Raid members and at the door "Take a guess." she said before bringing out a cigar.

"He really needs to learn a normal sense of humor." Tatsumi said face palming**. **

**Next Morning (5:59 AM) **

Kaneki adjusted his tie and his eye patch as he finished putting on his waiter suit. He was waiting for Tatsumi to arrive and the seconds seemed to go on for hours. Kaneki looked over the clock and it read 5:59 and since Tatsumi wasn't coming anytime soon he decided to go back up stairs. He opened the door to his bedroom and went straight to his writing desk and sat down. On the desk were several papers labeled 'Titles' and everything written on the papers was crossed out. After talking to Sheele and then having that quick fight with Bulat Kaneki decided to get back into the writing game. He didn't know why, hell, with his new Night Raid commitment trying to write a book seemed like a stupid thing to do. But he decided to do it anyway and he started making a storyboard for a sequel to Tokyo Ghoul. The problem that was vexing him was the name. All of his ideas didn't feel right and nothing he had written had given him any ideas. Right now he was desperate for a name that would fit the premise of the new story but right now he was stuck on Re. He started writing and time began to slip him by.

Kaneki heard something creak against the wood floor next to him. In a flash of movement he grabbed a sharpened pencil and with a flick of his wrist he threw it at the source of the sound. The source of the sound moved faster than the attack that was aimed at it and in a flash the pencil was in two on the ground. Kaneki looked down at the pencil and then the figure "How'd your secret mission go?" he asked.

Akame stepped out of the shadows of the room while sheathing her Katana. Kaneki lent down and picked up the cut pencil. He shot Akame a look before sitting back down at his desk "Is the mission you were on keeping tabs on me?." He asked. Akame didn't show any reaction, her cold demeanor never faltering "Not me so. Oh. You're here for Tatsumi."

Akame barely flinched but the movement was enough for Kaneki to know he was right. He turned his back on her and starting writing random names on the paper. Kaneki didn't see Akame move but he figured she moved so that she could see "What are you working on?" she asked.

"Book titles. Nothing overly complicated and flashy but nothing fits." Kaneki said.

After a few minutes of silence Kaneki heard the door chime ring signaling Tatsumi had come. He got up and walked past Akame "If you're going to keep an eye on Tatsumi follow him when I send him out for supplies. If your going to stay here all day, stay in the room. Unless of course you want to talk to Esdeath and have that conversation destroy my café."

If Kaneki didn't know any better he could've sworn that Akame raised an eyebrow in question. Kaneki ignored her and went down stairs where he found Tatsumi tying his tie. As Kaneki walks down Tatsumi turns and bows to his employer "Morning Kaneki sir."

"You're late." Kaneki said bluntly.

Tatsumi put a hand behind his head and smiles nervously "I Er, had to Um-."

"You over slept?" Kaneki guessed.

"No. I had." he thought for a moment "Things to do." Tatsumi said defending himself.

Kaneki sighed as he went to the counter. He took out a pen and note pad and wrote down few things. He ripped the note out of the note pad and handed the note to Tatsumi "Since we were supposed to open three minutes ago you're going out of groceries. There's an old man named Gensei, tell him I sent you and carry the order back here."

Tatsumi took the note "What's the order?"

"About a hundred pounds worth of coffee." Kaneki said walking to the door. He opens the door so that Tatsumi could walk out. Tatsumi quickly walked out and behind the brown haired waiter Kaneki moved the closed sign to open. Tatsumi looked at the note, which thankfully was full of directions to the old vendor's stand. Tatsumi set off at a quick jog, determined to get to the stand and back fast so that Kaneki would be in a better mood. As he ran he passed someone with long blue hair and a rapier at her side. Tatsumi stopped and looked behind him but the woman was gone '_Was that? No_' he thought. He ran down the road he was on and nearly missed his turn to the farmers market.

**With Kaneki**

The day was going smoothly so far. His normal morning regulars had come in and they had been given their normal orders. Kaneki was making another pot of coffee when he felt a familiar chill come into the room. he didn't need to look as the cold feeling took a seat at the counter "Morning General." he said in his rehearsed customer voice.

Esdeath took the bait like she always does and smiles "Morning Kaneki."

Kaneki didn't need to be told her order, so instead of wasting time asking he brought over her cup. Extra grains, extra hot and swirled in a way that the taste remained consistent throughout. Kaneki gave the cup to her and Esdeath accepted. She drank in silence before she looked a little embarrassed "I have to ask you something."

Kaneki stopped what he was doing "What is it?"

"I didn't ask for your permission so please don't file copyright or something like that."

Kaneki blinked "For what?"

"For this." Esdeath pulled out a folded up piece of paper and handed it to Kaneki. He took it and unfolded it and it took all of his willpower to not look shocked at what he saw. It was a wanted poster with a masked face on the front. He looked normal enough beyond the black suit that was very well drawn. The real difference were the two tentacle like appendages that stuck out of its back. The name under the artist picture was 'The Ghoul of Night Raid'.

**Authors Note: **

**Not gonna lie, that felt really good to write. Oh don't worry, I'm messed up for life mentally, don't worry I know. **

**And holy crap a freaking mouth?! I am so so so so sorry you guys there was a thing called school and it demanded my time. But now its over and I'm a free man again SO SUCK IT PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM!**

**Now, I know what some of you are going to say "007 you just killed an essential member of the starting Jeagars, and an entire arc of the cannon." First off, when I started writing this I wanted Seryu to die in the most painful way that I can think up. I think getting eaten, torn in half and then limb from limb is a nice start. Second, if you thought that was brutal I haven't even gotten to the sick stuff so you have been warned. So don't worry about the story, as the writer that's my job. And I tried (Mostly likely failed) to capture the flashes of comedy that are present throughout the Akame ga Kill series. So if you liked the jokes, thanks but if you didn't don't worry this chapter will probably be one of the first/last comedy filled chapters.**

**Also pairings, anyone who is a TatasumiXEsdeath fan. Don't worry that's coming soon and I would be open to getting ideas of a Kaneki pairing. Shoot me a PM or a review if you want that to happen.**

**On another note, **_**the results are in**_**(Insert medic theme from TF2 here). You people want to see Kaneki get an Imperial arm**

**23: Yes **

**14: No **

**The name of his Imperial arm will be The Ketsueki Shinigami (Loosely translated it means "The Blood Reaper"). It will be showing up in about two or three chapters. I got the idea from the review of one lipid creeper, congrats you just inspired the overactive imagination of a fan fiction writer =]. Take a guess as what it does because I am willing to change the ability if someone gives a really good idea.**

**So if you found this, Thanks for Reading :)**


	6. If You're going to Cry

**Achievement Unlocked : 200+ Followers AWSOME! **

**Now what you guys came here for.**

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill **

Kaneki stared at the wanted poster, it was him. The mask covered the face and the eye was black as night but it was definitely him. Kaneki shot a quick look at Esdeath who was sitting back in her chair before looking back at the poster. Someone must've been watching his fight with the justice girl. How in the hell had someone seen? There was no one there and Kaneki was sure that no one was watching from the shadows.

The wanted poster by itself was incredibly detailed and Kaneki could appreciate the skill involved. On the poster was a short list of his powers, his kugene and most importantly, that he eats people. What he couldn't appreciate was the fact that when Night Raid got there hands on this poster they will demand answers. Kaneki wouldn't be in the mood to give them those answers and Lubbock will finally have a reason to try and kill him. The key word in the last sentence being _try. _Kaneki steeled himself putting on the best fake smile he could "I'm honored that my work can be used for naming criminals. I don't care that you used the name, but I have to ask. Where did you see this man? If I didn't know any better he looks like he was the real life equivalent of Haise Sasaki." Kaneki commented.

Haise Sasaki, that was the name of the main character of Tokyo Ghoul. A normal student who becomes a monster and spends the entire story fighting something that can't be fought. Haise Sasaki was Kaneki's story name, he couldn't use his own name because he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Sasaki was just a name he made so that people here would keep thinking that the story was a work of fiction, not just a retelling of his memories.

Esdeath smiled "The resemblance is uncanny so I felt that the name fit well."

Kaneki nodded "Who ever this guy is, he went all out on the costume. He got the mask, the black eye and even the kugene spot on."

Esdeath set down her now empty cup for Kaneki to fill. He pulled a newly finished pot over and poured "Not only did he get every detail right, he got the powers as well. He was shot multiple times and looked like it was nothing. His supposedly fictional kugene ripped apart a soldiers imperial arm like it was nothing. He then proceeded to torture the poor girl before eating her alive. The kugene he had was exceptionally powerful but what puzzles me is that it shouldn't exist. Someone he was able to duplicate its strength with one of the lost Imperial Arms."

Kaneki gulped for show "Looks like you have a problem on your hands."

Esdeath shrugged "Not really. I doubt that he will give me much trouble but it never hurts to be safe. Which is why I have to ask a few things."

Kaneki raised an eyebrow "If you're going to ask me if I want to help you fight this man just because he's plagiarizing my books you are surely mistaken."

Esdeath waved the comment aside "No nothing like that, although that is a nice thought. No, I want to ask you details."

Kaneki just looked at her, waiting for her to continue "If this new pet of Night Raid is insistent on taking characters from your book and making them real life, then I have to go to the character's creator. In your book, exactly how do you take out a _ghoul?_"

Kaneki turned around and put the pot of coffee back on the heater "There's not much to add from the books description. Ghouls are advanced predators, possessing superior strength, speed and durability than normal humans. One of the major things separating humans and ghouls is that the ghouls posses the kugene. The Kugene is a predatory organ that is specific to a single ghoul alone. Each ghoul has a Kugene that range from short range combat to long ranged projectiles. These Kugene hit harder then most Imperial Arms and can rip through an armored human body like it was paper. Another thing that increases a Ghouls power is that most have a healing factor. They are able to grow full limbs and organs back after they are severed or destroyed. Haise Sasaki in particular had an incredible healing factor that grew his severed limbs back within minutes. If this man does have all of the powers of my ghouls then you have a serious problem on your hands, even for you General. According to my own work, Ghouls can only be harmed by their own kind or a weapon made out of their kugene."

Esdeath smiled a mad smile making her look like the queen of hell "If he truly does have those things. Then for the first time in a while I will have a fight that is truly worth enjoying."

"I would advise against over confidence Esdeath. You won't be laughing if this ghoul's kugene takes your arm off."

Esdeath rolled her eyes "If he is strong enough to bring me to my knees then I welcome his fight. Besides, I'm always cautious." she said.

Kaneki plastered a fake smile on his face for his supposed friend. Kaneki left Esdeath to serve another set of customers that had walked in. He took their orders and went back to his station as he felt killing intent fill the room. Kaneki shot a glance at Esdeath who put her hands up innocently as if to say "_It's not me._"

Kaneki looked around to try and find the source of the intent. His search stopped when he sensed that it was coming from upstairs. Kaneki's eyes narrowed "_Akame._" he thought. The supposedly professional assassin was giving off enough killing intent to make the normal customers uneasy. Kaneki looked at Esdeath again "Please tell me you didn't lure an assassin in here for fun?" he said, his tone clearly disappointed.

Esdeath gasps in mock shock "Kaneki, how dare you think so low of me. I would never lure an assassin into your store. Anywhere else, probably." she admitted.

Kaneki rolled his eye and put a hand on his head thinking. He tensed himself before before speaking "Esdeath, I sorry but I think I have to ask you to leave."

Esdeath raised an eyebrow before looking around at the people in the store "Oh, you don't want anyone to get involved, how noble of you."

"I just finished paying off the upstairs of this building." Kaneki deadpanned "I'd rather not pay for another home and business."

Esdeath swigged down her coffee, getting up she smiled at Kaneki "That's more like you."

"I'm going to use our friendship to tell you to get the hell out before you destroy the building."

"Fine fine I'm leaving." Esdeath said walking out the door. Kaneki waited for two minutes to make sure that she was definitely gone before absentmindedly picking up a pot to clean "You were two seconds away from causing the deaths of about twenty people." Kaneki said.

There was no response but Kaneki knew that Akame had heard him "She was practilcly begging you to attack her. Her hand was at her rapier and her entire body was ready to move to create a shield. No where in that talk did you have an opening to attack."

He let that sentence hang in the air for a second before setting down the pot "Tatsumi is late. Would you mind making him move faster?"

Again, no response. But after another minute a piece of paper floated down from the ceiling. Kaneki caught it with two fingers, it was a wanted poster for Akame. Kaneki looked at the paper, wondering for a moment why Akame had dropped it. Then he looked down and saw that the wanted poster of him was gone from the counter "_Why that little._" Kaneki thought. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he realized that he would need to prepare a few things in case the next two days went to hell.

* * *

**In the Shadows (Akame) **

Without making a sound and going unseen for all but a moment, Akame raced to the farmers market. In her hand was the crumpled paper of the Ghoul's wanted poster. The picture was interesting enough, the empire had a law stating that all fake addmitions for the wanted posters were to be burned. This was done so that the wanted poster would have the maximum likelihood of identifying the target. This wanted poster had a man that looked straight out of a horror novel, and Akame admitted that in a sense it did. Throughout Esdeath's and Kaneki's conversation she was listening and watching through the cracks in the floors and door. She had seen and heard everything the two expert level fighters had said. Kaneki's words at the end didn't phase her, why should they? He was only a member of Night Raid as long as he kept General Najenda in his pocket, this set of circumstances made Akame distrust the man and continue distrusting him. Akame's views of Kaneki were similar to Mine's but there was one difference between the two assassins. Akame trusted General Najenda's choice of bringing Kaneki into the fold, Mine didn't. Akame would trust Najenda, Kaneki though, he would be on her hit list for sometime. Of course that was before Akame had gotten ahold of the piece of paper she now carried.

As she went through the town she checked the wanted board. She looked at it as best she could from the shadows and her guess was confirmed. The posters were the same as they always were, with no Ghoul on the main targets board. This meant that Akame held one of the beta posters that wouldn't be put up for some time. With this information in hand a simple plan began forming. Step 1, find Tatsumi and bring him back to base. Step 2, deliver the poster to Najenda and Step 3, wait for further orders. Simple, straight forward and easy to accomplish, the recipe for a good job. Akame jumped through one final place of cover and finally she was next to the farmers market.

"You expect me to believe that Kaneki sent you to get his order?" A old gruff voice said**. **

"Fortheloveof-YES!" Tatsumi's voice shouted.

Akame peaked her head out of her cover. Tatsumi was in his waiter suit and he looked like he was getting angry. His brow was trimmed with sweat but Akame put that off to the frustration from dealing with the old man at the counter. The two men were bickering back and forth with questions ranging from what is Kaneki's full name to what the stores name means. The old man looked at Tatsumi with a hard glare "Ok, one final question."

"Finally." Tatsumi breathed in relief.

"What is Ken Kaneki's natural hair color?"

Both Tatsumi and Akame raised an eyebrow at the question "What kind of question is that?" Tatsumi asked.

"Just answer it." The old man said.

Tatsumi was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath before speaking "White."

The old man stood in silence for a while. After about a minute he grabbed behind his counter and brought a huge bag labeled 'Coffee' "You're legit."

Tatsumi hauled the bag over his shoulder and started walking away before stopping himself "Wait, how do you know that Kaneki's hair is white?"

The old man didn't speak and he turned around in his counter. Tatsumi looked at the old man for a second before starting to walk off "We keep secrets in this part of town. He kept mine when no one else would. So in return I keep his."

Tatsumi blinks before bowing to the man and walking off. The old man tisked at Tatsumi's bowing and muttered something under his breath but Akame didn't pay any more attention. She kept in the shadows, following Tatsumi till he was close enough. Quick as a snake she jumped from her shadow and grabbed Tatsumi. She put a hand over his mouth to stop him from screaming and with her other hand she grabbed the bag of coffee. Tatsumi struggled for a second before realizing that it was Akame. he settled down and Akame removed her hand from his mouth "I get off of work at ten, you could've waited."

Akame shook her head "This can't wait." she said. She brought out the wanted poster for Tatsumi to see. The young swordsmen looked over the wanted poster. At first his face didn't show any signs that he had seen anything wrong, but after a few moments his eyes slowly widened. Tatsumi grabbed the poster from Akame's hand for a better look "This. This is-"

"Kaneki." Akame confirmed "There is no one who matches this description. The mask and the suit are an exact match from what Mine and Sheele described."

Tatsumi took one last look at the poster before handing the piece of paper back to Akame. The two wait in the shadows for a tense moment, then Tatsumi drones out "I guess that I have to get off work early?"

Akame nodded. She took off at a fast pace, with Tatsumi following close behind her. They left the bag of coffee and didn't even spare anyone a glance as the two exited the capitol.

* * *

**Base of Night Raid **

Najenda looked at what was shown in front of her. The poster of _The Ghoul of Night Raid_ was inches from her face and in her hand but she still was having trouble speaking. Najenda knew that Kaneki wasn't human but she expected something more believable than this. She had expected a fusion between human and danger beast, her spies had reported that the empire was trying that to increase it destructive force. In front of her though, was a warning that Ken Kaneki was something out of a horror novel, ironically the one he himself wrote. Everyone had gotten a look at the poster and each of the members had taken the news differently. Mine was trying her hardest not to think about the fact that the man who was supposed to be helping them ate people. They had no way to prove it was him of course but they all had a silent agreement that was shared between them. Mine thought back to the fight with that soldier girl and her dog-like Imperial arm. _If Kaneki was a ghoul then in all likelihood he at-NO MINE STOP, Stop thinking about probabilities before you can't eat right for a week_.

Bulat had barely reacted visibly when he heard the news. Contrary to everyone else he liked Kaneki when he first showed up. He kept to himself and obviously didn't like to talk to others but he fought and trained like a man should, with everything on the line and nothing held back. Bulat could respect that life style in a man and when the evidence that Kaneki was a ghoul was placed in front of him, truthfully he couldn't care less. True that Kaneki had threatened Lubbock but Bulat could tell that it was a hollow threat. Kaneki only wanted to scare everyone into thinking he was something else, or at least that's what the runaway soldier hoped.

The biggest reason that Bulat had remained neutral through the whole thing was that he pitied Kaneki. He had gotten the basics of the story of a ghouls life from Sheele and if Kaneki had to go through even a tenth of what she described, then Kaneki had more resolve in him then Bulat would've thought. To go through all those trails and say yes to a small chance at redemption, Bulat knew of only one other man who was capable of going through all of that, and that man was the man that Bulat would hold in the highest regard for the rest of his life. Even as he thought of those things, the thing that Kaneki was did make him uneasy. A ghoul was unnatural, and what it had to do to survive, it made Bulats skin crawl.

Leone was trying hard to keep a smile on her face to keep the mood up but it wasn't working very well. Mostly because Leone didn't have much feeling in the smirk, her thoughts getting away from her like Mine's had. Kaneki was a quiet guy from what she'd seen and Sheele looked like she had started to take a liking to the guy so she couldn't complain. Leone shook her head before sparing a glance at Sheele. Sheele looked like she was going through receiving the news harder than anyone. She was normally a little out of it sure but she hadn't stopped staring at the ground where she was standing at for a while now. Her eyes were blank and she looked, almost defeated. Lubbock probably wasn't helping much. The green haired idiot was strutting around like he owned the place muttering stuff like 'I told you so' or 'Called it'.

Lubbock held a hand out in front of Najenda and she gave him the wanted poster. He showed it around so that everyone got a look again "See guys, _this _is what is helping us. This _thing _has been walking in and out of here like he owns the place and at any moment he could've killed us. I was lenient to let him join when his way of coming to us involved nearly killing boss. Top this news off with the fact that he probably gave Esdeath all the information he could on us and you have a perfect reason to kill the man on the spot."

Sheele, like everyone, shifted nervously but Tatsumi shook his head "Lubbock, I was surprised too when Akame showed me the poster but don't you think your taking this a little far? We have no proof that Kaneki's a-"

"Even if he was _what_?!" Lubbock interrupted "Even if he's a Ghoul? A monster? Yes I'm a hypocrite to say that, we're killers so we all have the title of monsters. But I'm sure we can all agree this is a certain line that we can't cross."

No one objected so Lubbock nodded "I rest my case."

Sheele shifted again "Lubbock, I think that we should-."

"NO! Don't you dare defend him for this!" Lubbock pointed accusingly "If he is truly what we think he is, he'll take one look at you Sheele before he eats you for dinner."

Sheele opens her mouth but closes it again. She retreated back to the wall and sat down hugging her knees. Tatsumi looked at his feet uncomfortably. Lubbock rolled his eyes "Why are you acting like this Sheele? He saved your life, so what we do that for each other all of the time, we're friends its what we do for each other."

"Lubbock." Najenda said, her voice trying to calm the assassin down "You've made your point."

"Are you sure? Because some people might not be getting it. So I'm just putting more evidence on the table-."

"Shut up." a voice said, it resonated with anger.

Everyone turned to the source of the voice, it was Bulat. Everyone stared at Bulat as the old soldier moved from the wall he was leaning against. He forcibly ripped the poster from Lubbock's hand "Its a poster and we're here all jumping to conclusions."

"Yes but-" Lubbock started before Bulat put up a finger stopping him "But nothing. Lubbock I know you're scared and I know you're just trying to protect us but take a step back and look at this from where I'm standing. We don't even know if Kaneki really is a ghoul and this poster is all we have to go on. If he is a ghoul then you should be ashamed of yourself. Have you read Tokyo Ghoul Lubbock?"

Lubbock thought for a moment "Well no." he admitted.

Bulat looked at Sheele "Sheele, can you quick get your copy of Tokyo Ghoul?"

Sheele blinked "Just do it please." Bulat said.

Sheele nodded getting up. She ran off down the halls to her room leaving the group. Lubbock shot Bulat a questioning glance but he stayed silent. Sheele came back a few moments later, in her hands was the worn out novel. Bulat held out his hand and Sheele placed the book in it. Bulat flipped through a few pages before handing the book to Lubbock "And this is for?" Lubbock asked.

"First paragraph, left page, start reading." Bulat said.

Lubbock rolled his eyes and started reading. Lubbock's expression slowly turned from angry defender to horrified reader. Tatsumi looked over his shoulder and his face started to mirror Lubbock's. Mine groaned "What are you guys doing, it's just a book."

Tatsumi gulped "993, 986, 979, 972, 965. A hand grabs my head '_Start over._' the hand's owner said. I slump my head down and begin again 'What's 1000 minus 7? 993, 986. I keep repeating as Yamori continues his work. The pain at this time had grown to a constant presence that continued to plague me. So I kept counting the numbers, I've long since passed the point where I could think sane thought through the pain. All I have left is the numbers, so I count down by seven from a thousand till he forces me to go back from the beginning and start anew. With each cut another one of my fingers or another one of my toes became severed from my body and in the same moment they would regrow making the cycle go on and on.

"As the second brake approached I heard my captor laugh his mad heart out as he looked on me with envy 'I'm so excited.' he said 'I've never played with someone as special as you. With each cut I make you heal and with limb I take it regrows. Do you know what this means? It means I get to play with you forever'. We should stop there, the next part…..God's Sheele how do you read this?" Tatsumi asked.

"W-Well, before now it was just a good." Sheele said getting a little embarrassed.

Bulat took the book from Lubbock "If we are going as far as to say that Kaneki is a monster and he's a ghoul, then this is what he's been through. Don't get me wrong everyone here has their own story, most of them aren't for the faint of heart. But this. Our pathetic excuses for sob stories can't even come close to this. If Kaneki really did go through all of this I'm surprised the man is still able to walk around people without killing himself in shame. Getting experimented on, tortured, being beaten down and when you try and fight for those that helped you only for them to turn their back on you? Thats dark, and can anyone here say that they could go through all of that and still be the same person?"

No one said anything and Lubbock looked down at his shoes in shame. Bulat walked up to him and put a hand on the man's shoulder "Lubbock, what you're doing is good and we all appreciate it but look at what we're doing. This is a man who we don't know, we don't trust him and he doesn't trust us. When the time comes that we all trust each other, then we ask if it's really him. Until then, we're allies."

Najenda let out a relieved sigh for Bulat disabling the situation "Ok, it's clear we're all a little steamed about something or another. Everyone get some sleep and reconvene at midnight for mission briefing."

"Yes boss." Everyone said before going to their own rooms.

**Base of Night Raid (Midnight) **

Kaneki stood outside the door of the Night Raid base. He was in his black battle suit, his hair was white and he held his mask on his hand. For some reason he never bothered taking off his eyepatch, not that it was needed, they all already knew what he was. Or at least they suspected what he was. At the door, he was in a bit of a dilemma, should he knock or just kick the door down? Kaneki took the safer option and knocked. On the second knock the door opened to revile Lubbock. The two men stared daggers at each other before Lubbock moved out of the way to let Kaneki into the base. Kaneki moved past the shorter man and he heard the clicking sound of the door being shut behind him. Kaneki spared a glance at Lubbock who flipped him off when he caught his glare. Kaneki rolled his eyes before taking off his eyepatch and walking down the hallway to the main hall. Once he was in the hall, Kaneki could see all the members of Night Raid lined up ready for mission briefing. Akame was in front of the group next to Najenda so Kaneki had no way of confronting her. Kaneki stood at the end of the line next to Sheele. She smiled and waved at him but Kaneki only gave her a slight nod. Kaneki looked a crossed the room and glared at Akame before making himself look respectful. Najenda stood up "Everyone is here, good. I have three bad pieces of bad news to relay, listen carefully. First off I can't contact the Local Team."

Everyone looked at Najenda is shock but Tatsumi looked confused and Kaneki looked like didn't care. Tatsumi raised a hand "Local Team?"

"The empire is vast. We specialize in assassination missions in the capitol but other groups work on the surrounding area's." Akame explained.

"It'll take some time for an investigation to get underway but the likelihood is that they're dead is high."

Lubbock spared a glance at Kaneki "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

"No." Kaneki said bluntly.

Najenda kept going to stop Lubbock from repeating the mornings mistake "In any case I want increased security around the base. Lubbock, I want your threads around the base to increase."

Lubbock nodded in agreement while Najenda continued "Secondly, General Esdeath has called for a selection."

"What kind?" Mine asked.

"I don't know and that scares me." Najenda admitted "Leone, I want you to go to the capitol and tail her. Observe her movements, I want to know everything."

"Roger! I've always wanted to know what kind of person she is." Leone said.

"She's a sadistic bitch who enjoys the suffering of others and justifies it by calling it Social Darwinism." Kaneki said.

Everyone shot a questioning glance at Kaneki but Najenda's glance was more of agreement "Couldn't have said it better myself. Be on your guard Leone, she's not someone to be underestimated."

"Alright! Alight!" Leone said. Leone thought for a moment "_This chance was perfect. If the chance comes up I get to take her out._ _She's known as the strongest in the empire so killing her will have the same effect as taking out the prime minister."_

The thought of taking out Esdeath gave Leone a smile "You won't get the chance." Kaneki said, breaking her train of thought.

Leone crossed her arms in annoyance "I'm sorry what?"

"You won't get the chance to kill her." Kaneki said, his tone ripe with disapproval "You might think you have a chance but, oh you'll know when the time comes."

Leone humphed "_Shows what you know, I'll bring back Esdeath's head just to spite you." she thought. _

Najenda cleared her throat to get everyone's attention again "Finally the last piece of bad news is this. The town of Conriston is little more than a pile of rubble."

"What?!" Everyone shouted.

"That town had its own small military, how was it taken out?" Bulat asked.

Najenda let out a puff of smoke before continuing "A group of bandits attacked it. That was the official story from the capitol sources and to top it off they left these."

Najenda held up a poster. On it was the Night Raid symbol with a signed signature of Najenda "Normally we wouldn't know much but thanks to our friend Kaneki here, we know that this is the work of the Three Beasts, Esdeath's personal guard. Of the death tolls 61 talented bodyguards and 4 high ranking officials. Those that were killed all opposed the empire and the prime minister. Also they said they would do nothing for the rebel army, all they care about is their country. Talented people like these are essential for the creation of a new country. We can't let any more innocent, good, talented people die! So I say that we go out and crush the three beasts! What are your opinions on this?"

Tatsumi clenched his fist "I don't get stuff like politics but I do know one thing. Using Night Raids name to do these things, just makes me sick."

Bulat smiled "Thats right, Exactly right Tatsumi!"

"Everyone else?" Najenda asked.

Everyone nodded their head in agreement and Najenda stood from her chair "What say you, Kaneki?"

The rooms gazes were instantly on Kaneki and the white haired man looked bored "You think you really need to ask me that? It's true that I don't have the same code of honor as all of you. It's also true that I couldn't give two thoughts of those that have fallen but make no mistake general. I am a broken, untrustworthy, killer hiding in a honest man's skin but I'll be damned if I don't teach those pathetic excuses of beasts what a true monster looks like."

Najenda grinned "Then we are all in agreement. Lets head out, let us show the three beasts what a mistake it is to use our name! Let's teach them the law of assassins!"

"Yes Boss!" Night Raid responded.

"Now for the mission. There are a total of five officials that are suspected of targeted. Of those five only two have plans of leaving the capitol which means we're going in two groups of three. First Akame, Lubbock and Kaneki are to go out from the capitol and safeguard the official that plans on traveling by carriage. Bulat, Tatsumi and Sheele your mission is to board the ship Ryuusen and protect him."

Tatsumi raised his hand "The Ryuusen?"

"Its a ocean liner." Sheele explained.

"A big one." Leone elaborated.

Mine stood where she was but Kaneki could see smoke coming out of her ears "Boss! What the hell am I supposed to do!?"

"Oh Mine, sorry I completely forgot about you." Najenda said and Mine's jaw dropped in shock at her commanders forgetfulness "Well you can either join one of the two groups, go with Leone to the capitol. Your choice."

Mine considered the options "I'll go with Leone." she said barely taking a second.

"That was quick." Najenda said.

"Why do you want to come with me?" Leone asked.

"Because if I go with Bulat and Sheele but I'll have to deal with Tatsumi."

"HEY!" Tatsumi screaming pointing a finger at Mine.

"And if I go with Lubbock and Akame I'll have to deal with both Lubbock and Kaneki."

"HEY!" Lubbock screaming pointing a finger at Mine.

"Feelings mutual." Kaneki said.

"Alright, everyone pack your leave in one hour." Najenda ordered.

Everyone moved to go to their own individual rooms for supplies but Lubbock walked to Najenda. He got close to whisper into her ear "Did you tell Akame?"

Najenda nodded "He so much as threatens to give you up or do anything suspicious, you know what to do."

Lubbock nods in understanding.

**The Next day **

Kaneki, Lubbock, and Akame we walking down a snow covered road leading to the town where the official was staying the night. Kaneki had borrowed one of Bulats black coats and it was currently draped around his shoulders. Akame and Lubbock had dawned similar coats but both of theirs were white to match the snow on the ground. Kaneki had asked if their was a white coat for him as well but Najenda said that they were lacking in clothing supplies. So in the end Kaneki had ended up with an obvious black coat. He didn't mind as much as it was painfully obvious that it would be easier for him to be spotted in the dark color.

As they walked Kaneki had ended up walking in front of the group with Akame. They had passed a few military convoys but none of them had stopped them. They probably thought that they were just visiting some friends or something. Lubbock had opted to stay behind and spent the journey looking at Kaneki's back. It was extremely awkward situation to be in since no one talked but Kaneki had barely noticed. The silence made it clear that Lubbock wasn't trying to trust Kaneki and Akame's cold demeanor wasn't helping to make the trip full of joyous conversation. After a while the group finally got to the edge of the town. They left the road and started running along the tops of the trees to get a good view of the city. As the group got themselves positioned in a big tree Akame stopped everyone "We stay here." she said.

Kaneki nodded before finding a nice position to lay down. Lubbock had the same idea and he started leaning against the side of the tree as well. Akame stood lookout over the city while keeping an eye on Kaneki. Kaneki didn't care and after a quick examination of the town it looked like it wasn't in any trouble for now so Kaneki decided to take a quick nap. Kaneki had slept for approximately an hour before Akame had to woke him up. Kaneki looked out over the town and he sighed. There was a group of caravans coming into the town and by the way that they were holding swords and guns they weren't friendly. Lubbock got up and put on his gloves while Akame drew her blade, Kaneki just popped his knuckles. Everyone was getting ready to move but Akame stopped the two men with a hand "What?" Lubbock asked.

From somewhere under her coat Akame produced a short sword in a sheath. She tossed it to Kaneki and he caught it without trouble. Kaneki pulled it from its sheath, it was a normal dual sided blade that was about a foot and a half long. Kaneki eyed Akame "Whats this for?"

"I was ordered to give you a weapon." Akame said like that explained everything.

"I don't need one." Kaneki bluntly said.

"I was ordered to give you a weapon." Akame repeated jumping out of the tree and into the town. Kaneki rolled his eyes before jumping after her and Lubbock followed close behind him. The three killers sprinted through the small streets of the town as they came to their opponents. It was clear that they were mercenaries with no connection to the empire (Other than the probable money they were being paid). There armor was black and gray with additional plating making it slightly different from the normal Empire army. Akame and Kaneki brandished their swords while Lubbock let his strings go out to their full length. The mercenaries brandished their respective weapons as the commander loaded his gun "Destroy everyone who opposes us!"

The mercenaries roared in challenge as they charged against the group. As soon as they came within striking distance Kaneki and Akame jumped through their ranks with superhuman speed. The men in front turned around to look at the two in awe but they suddenly found themselves tangled in Lubbock's strings. They didn't even have time to scream as the strings choked the life out of them and those that weren't being choked were far worse for wear. Kaneki and Akame were slicing through the ranks of the mercenaries in front of them. A soldier got close to hitting Kaneki but he dodged under the bigger men. While he was sliding under them he took his new sword and cut right through the man's leg making him fall down in pain. Kaneki jumped back, flipping in the air before he brought his open fist down on the man's head, crushing his skull. Kaneki slowly got up making him look even more terrifying to the remaining mercenaries. He wiped his mouth with his bloodied hand, this action had the double effect of making a few of the mercenaries step back and gave Kaneki a nice drink of blood. While a few of the mercenaries were staring at him Akame used the opportunity brilliantly. She weaved through the crowds of mercenaries, not stopping for anything and only making small cuts but that's all she needed to do. The curse of Murasame spread through the poor men and the fell to the ground like flies.

After she was finished, Akame walked up to Kaneki and the two took a back to back battle stance against the remaining enemies. At this point, whoever was left was more or less scared shitless. Needless to say that the ones with any sense started running away. Kaneki and Akame relaxed from their battle stances as they watched the men run away. Kaneki looked around trying to find the carriage that they had seen contain the Official. It was parked next to a big town house that stood out only because of its huge size compared to everything around it. Kaneki walked by Akame, he pointed at the carriage and Akame understood what he was going to do. As Kaneki got closer it was clear that the occupants weren't inside anymore. The door was torn open and Kaneki could smell blood coming from the inside. He rushed towards the carriage and he quickly looked inside. The previous occupants weren't inside like he originally surmised and the blood coating the carpet wasn't accompanied by anybody.

Kaneki looked around the edge of the carriage and found what he was looking for. A nice clean blood trail led into the townhouse so Kaneki followed. The drops of blood were few and far between but Kaneki's superior sense of smell kept him on the trail easily. When he got to the town house door he just busted it down with a powerful kick. The big wooden doors nearly flew off their hinges from the force of the kick, the door wasn't going to be of anymore use but at least it was open now. As Kaneki walked through the now open doorway, hide sight told him that he might've wanted to check if the door was locked to begin with. The thoughts of weather the door was open or not took a back seat when Kaneki heard a pain filled scream. Kaneki went from a slow walk to a inhuman sprint speed as soon as he heard the sound. The inside of the townhouse was built like the average church, pews of chairs were lined up in orderly rows and there was a platform for speakers at the front of the rows. Near the platform was an open door leading down into some basement. Kaneki hurdled over the chairs as he rushed to the doorway and down the flight of steps. The flight of stairs ended after about two stories worth of distance underground before they opened up to a hallway. Kaneki went down the hallway till it turned to an open door leading to a small room. The room seemed to be a private place of worship, a miniature candle altar adorned with gold and other precious metals stood in the rooms only table. The only other thing in the small room would've been a confessional but that would be if the men hadn't gone and ruined everything. The official was pinned to the side of the wall by two huge spears that had been stuck through his shoulders. His once noble attire was matted with blood from his wounds and his face was wet with the constant stream of tears coming from his eyes. In front of him about three men were standing over a young woman about twenty years old. She once might've been a beautiful girl and the pride of her fathers world but she lay naked and broken on the floor. Her eyes were open but their was no life coming from them and by the way the three men were readjusting their pants, the reason for the previous scream was quite clear. The men hadn't noticed Kaneki enter the room as they congratulated each other on the days '_Take_'. Kaneki loudly stepped forward making the men turn towards him and instantly they drew their weapons. Kaneki looked down at the girl, the official and then finally at the men "I hope that you've felt heaven, because the only way I can say sorry to that girl there is to send you gentlemen hell." he said coldly.

"Fucking try it!" one of the men shouted as they charged him.

With the close space that the small room provided the men were on Kaneki in an instant. The first man to come swung his blade in an overhead strike, he must've been the stupidest man in the group. Firstly the low ceiling that the room had slowed the blade as it had to pass through the soft material the ceiling was made out of. Secondly, the strike was telegraphed for the world to see so Kaneki had no trouble taking out is won blade and blocking the strike. With the first attack failing, the other two men tried to get around their comrade and go in for a low strike aimed at Kaneki's midsection. Their blades were average size and the men wielding them were little more then amateurs thinking they're something special. The one of the right came into range first so kaneki acted on that one first. Quicker than any of the men present could follow, Kaneki brought his free hand forward and redirected the direction of the first strike by tapping the tip of the blade ever so slightly. This misdirection forced the blade to off course just enough to intercept the hand of the third man. The blade did what it was made to do and the man jumped back as his wrist was bleeding profusely from his ruptured wrist. The other two men's eyes widened as they realized what had just happened and before they could react Kaneki continued his assault. He dropped his borrowed sword and with his hand now free he grabbed the wrist of the first man to attack. With a quick motion he forced the man to stab his sword into the ceiling making him weaponless. Kaneki spun on his foot and kicked the man in front of him stomach winding him and forcing him back.

The other man had recovered at this point and he rushed in to attack Kaneki with a stab. Before the blade could come close to its mark Kaneki dropped low to the ground and aimed a palm strike at the man's knee. The sickening sound of bones cracking and breaking filled the room as the man's kneecap was shattered. He screamed and with the momentum of the previously tried attack he fell forwards. Kaneki did a quick move that wouldn't look out of place at a dance competition to bring his legs out from under the man's path. As he fell down Kaneki slammed one of his feet in-between the man's legs. The expected sound of flesh being crushed, blood squirting out and another scream of pain graced those present as Kaneki stood back up. Coming up from behind, the man that Kaneki had winded earlier had regained his courage and tried to come at Kaneki with a punch while his back was turned. Without even looking at the man Kaneki ducked under the strike and while he was close to the ground he picked up the sword that he had dropped. He spun around and stabbed straight up into the man who attacked him. The blade went in between his legs, slicing through his balls and since the blade was hilt deep in the man's body, any vital organs that were located in the bottom half of the body. Kaneki pulled the sword free of the man's body and he barely had time to let the blood flow out of his mouth before he fell over dead. Kaneki knelt down next to the man and he used his shirt to wipe off the blood on his sword. When Kaneki was finished he sheathed the blade and walked over to the man closet to him. He was crying and a steady stream of blood was flowing out of his legs "To live and die with how you gained pleasure, poetic." Kaneki said before kicking the man once in the head.

A snapping sound filled the air before the man's head slumped over, his neck completely destroyed. Kaneki looked around the room and the one remaining man was leaning next to the door grasping at his hand. Kaneki slowly walked towards the man and he tried to crawl away but he hadn't realized that the wall was right behind him. Kaneki simply slapped the man over the head making him cry out in pain. While he was breathing from the pain Kaneki went over to the table that once held the altar, he grabbed one of the legs and ripped it off. The table fell over when one of its support legs was removed from it and Kaneki felt the light weight of the legs as he came back other to the man. Kaneki knelt down and with one hand he forced the man's head to be flush against the wall before he stabbed the wooden table leg down on the man's knee. Needless to say the man screamed in pain as he was pinned to the ground, he started speaking but Kaneki ignored him. He went over to where the official was staring at him like he was the devil before kneeling down "I'm sorry sir, but I can't sugar coat the facts. You're pinned to the wall by those spears and what I'm about to do can be determined by what information you give me. Do you understand?" Kaneki asked.

The official weakly shook his head yes "Good." Kaneki said "First, were the spears they used against you barbed?"

The official gulped and shook his head yes again. He closed his eyes, already knowing what Kaneki had to do. Kaneki nodded, he brought out his sword and with a few swift strikes he cut the shafts of the spears as close to the officials body as he could. Kaneki sheathed the blade and put one hand on each of his shoulders "Are you ready?"

The official bit down on his lip and Kaneki took that as a yes. Kaneki pulled on the officials shoulders making his body pass through the shafts of the spears. To his credit the official didn't scream, but the blood coming from his mouth wasn't very promising. Kaneki ripped the man's coat and began dressing the holes in his shoulders. He worked fast so that he didn't die of blood loss and after a few tense minutes the man's wounds were covered and the bleeding began to die down. Kaneki helped the man to his feet and unlike what he normally would do he didn't put one of the officials arms over his shoulder for fear of making his wounds worse. Kaneki slowly lead the official out but he stopped moving as he looked at the final of the three men "Wait." he said weakly "What about this one?" he asked.

Kaneki looked down at the man and then back at the official. Kaneki glanced over at the altar and the candles "Can you stand on your own?"

The official nodded before painfully leaning up against the door frame. Kaneki went over to the table and grabbed another one of the legs. He made his way towards the downed killer while braking the table leg into smaller and smaller pieces of wood "Is this townhouse anything important?"

The official shook his head back and forth "No, this old place is coming down. The only thing of use it that alter there."

Kaneki spared it a glance "Other than the gold what's so special about it?"

"Its not the alter itself, it's what's under it." the official said.

That got Kaneki's attention and he looked at the wounded man "Whats under it?"

The official said nothing to Kaneki, he was too busy looking at the pleading mercenary "I will answer that question if you tell me what you intend to do with that man."

Kaneki broke the table leg one more time between his fingers. He now had a small piece of wood that wouldn't look out of place on a huge arrow. Kaneki slammed the piece of wood hard against the flat end of the table leg that kept the mercenary prisoner. The extra motion caused a new wave of pain to come to the man but the added bonus to the notion was a small indentation on the top end of the wooden table leg. Kaneki placed the wood on the indentation and put both of his hands on the side of the stick. The he started rubbing, slow at first but then faster and faster till Kaneki's hands were blurs of motion. It took some time for anything to happen but the first thing that did was that the table leg began to smoke. In the corner of his eye, Kaneki could see the official smile and the man looked in horror as both of them realized what Kaneki was doing. The man started crying "Please, don't kill me." he pleased.

Kaneki removed the stick and the smallest embers of a fire started sparking atop the table leg. Kaneki blew softly on the embers and a small fire started at the top of the chair leg. The old wood caught fire and the flames slowly started spreading down to the man. For good measure Kaneki held the starting stick in the flames for a moment, when he took it out the old wood was burning brightly. Kaneki looked at the man with dead eyes "Did she say that?" he asked before dropping the flaming stick on the man's leg.

In the long history of humans, many things have been documented. We have documented the number of times a certain country has declared war, we've written down personal achievements and other things that have interested us. Documentation can be considered the greatest human achievement ever made. To rise from simple caveman to developing our own individual languages and creating a written form of said language is a phenomenal thing. To write something down is to keep it for the next generation and giving knowledge to the next generation, most people agree, is the greatest gift a teacher can give his/her students. Of course there are things that were never meant to be documented, unspeakable acts of violence and horror have been made an equal amount of time as the good things in life. Kaneki's world's Holocaust is one such example, the atrocities committed in those POW camps will hopefully never be repeated. In documentation of this kind things like how fragile the human body is is a large topic. The human body can only take so much damage before it stops functioning, and its amazing how easy it it can be destroyed. As many people know, dying normally hurts like hell so there came a list of the most painful deaths that can be achieved. The list has been changed as each new level of technology has been brought into the world, But a common contender for the top spot of most painful death is always being burnt alive.

The mercenary screamed as he learned just why that way of death is always so high on the list. Being burnt alive is not a quick process, the fire has to burn through three layers of skin, muscle and bone before the person being burned stops feeling the pain. If it starts on with your clothes first then it's even worse as the heat just keeps building. Kaneki and the official watched as the man died in his own personal flaming hell. He became desperate in the last moments of his life as he tried in vain to remove the table leg. When he finally stopped screaming and moving Kaneki spat on the flames before going over to the altar "Are you going to tell me?"

The official nodded "Under the tile that has the mark of the Empire on it."

Kaneki moved the remains of the table out of his way before looking for the aforementioned tile. It didn't take long and Kaneki brushed his hand over it and felt the tile loosen. Kaneki didn't wait before striking his hand down and removing the tile from the floor. The stone piece of flooring moved away to reveal a blood red metal box the size of dinner place. It didn't have any special markings on it so Kaneki reached down with one hand and picked it out of the ground. As Kaneki took out the box he looked it over. Their was a small indentation where Kaneki expected a key to be placed but other then that the box looked solid enough "That box is this towns curse." The official explained "It has been in our care since the time of the first emperor. This village was made over the ruins of the first emperor's greatest assassin's home. The people of this town were told to keep it safe till one came that could open it. Even if that man is not you, Night Raid member, I want you to have it."

Kaneki raised an eyebrow at the man "Take it as a gesture of thanks giving my daughter's killers what they deserved."

Kaneki nodded and bowed in respectful thanks. He then moved over to the girls body, he took of his long black coat and draped it over her body before picking her up. Kaneki and the official wordlessly walked up the stairs as the town house burned around them. As soon as they got out a village man took the girls body from Kaneki and two women helped the official to a building which Kaneki guessed was a hospital. Kaneki looked at the box that he'd been given. As he was looking it over again Lubbock and Akame walked up to him "The official will be fine." Kaneki said "He won't be able to use his arms for the rest of his life but he'll live."

Both assassins nodded and Lubbock's eyes pricked up "What you got there?" he asked.

"I have no idea." Kaneki admitted.

Lubbock rolled his eyes but he kept his mouth shut. Akame was staring off into the distance and Kaneki had to call her name twice before she responded "Huh?"

"Akame, I was asking if everything was alright?"

"Yes, its just that." Akame paused "The three beasts weren't here, and that makes me worried."

Lubbock laughed "If what Bulat, Tatsumi and Sheele were dealing with was anything like this they're fine."

"Yes." Kaneki agreed "Akame, I'm sure that those guys are ok. I'm sure that their little pleasure cruise is a piece of cake."

Akame smiled a little at the boys attempting to cheer her up. Kaneki for some reason felt uneasy.

**On the Ryuusen **

Tatsumi breathed hard as he took another battle stance. In front of him was a short innocent looking boy a little shorter then him wielding a flute as his weapon. Across the deck from Tatsumi, Sheele was engaging a huge man with battle axes with her Extase. Bulat was running fast along the side of the ship in his Incursio armor dodging literal water dragons as he fought the man that Tatsumi had learned was Bulats former commanding officer. The mission had gone smoothly at the start. Tatsumi had snuck on the ship in the expensive suit that he was now wearing with Sheele, who wore a beautiful sleeveless dress as a rich young couple. Bulat had used his armor's ability to turn invisible and snuck on unseen by anyone and he had only revealed himself to Tatsumi and Sheele. The party had gone smooth as well, Tatsumi and Sheele had conversed with the rich on the ship. It was easy to keep an eye on everything and Tatsumi and Sheele thought that this whole adventure was going to be uneventful. That was of course until the flute music started playing. As soon as the music started playing everyone on the ship with the exception of Tatsumi and Sheele had fallen asleep. The two of them were then approached by the members of the Three Beasts that they were currently fighting. The old general had nearly taken Sheele out of play early one but Bulat jumped out of no where and blocked his attack. So the current fights seemed to be even enough. Sheele was using her smaller figure and faster fighting style to keep on even grounds with the huge man's double axes. In Bulats case he was clearly the more powerful fighter but his opponent kept him at a distance with wave after wave of water attacks. His Imperial arm was a ring that apparently allowed him to control the water around him and use it as a weapon. He forced Bulat to go on the defensive and wasn't fooled by any actions that Bulat took to close the distance. Tatsumi broke his eyes away from his friends battles and focused on the boy in front of him. He was smaller and faster then Tatsumi was but he wasn't on the same level of speed as Akame was so he could at least predict his movements to defend against them.

The boy seemed to be looked passed Tatsumi to Bulat and former General Liver's fight "I got to say, your friend over their isn't half bad. If I had to venture a guess he would be as Esdeath-sama's fighting level. To bad he had to fight Liver on a boat, it's clear who will win."

Tatsumi rushed forward striking at the supposedly off guard killer "Your right Bulats going to kick his ass!"

"You mean Liver right!?" the boy said pushing back against Tatsumi's strike.

"I know what I said, and Bulats going to win!"

"No Liver!"

"Bulat!"

"Liver!"

"Bulat!"

"Liver!"

"Bulat!"

"Liver!"

"**Bulat!**!"

"**Liver**!"

The two went back and forth as they classed with their respective weapons. Bulat and Liver had stopped their fighting for a moment and both of them were able to overhear their comrades voices. Both soldiers smiled at the sentiment "It's good to see the young still have the same great fire that brought us through so much Bulat."

Bulat chuckled "Yeah, Tatsumi is growing into a real man."

Liver nodded as he looked over Tatsumi's battle "His fighting style is reminiscent of the one I taught you all those years ago. He looks to almost master the basics, and he's a young one at that, I can tell his great potential from just this short exchange."

Bulat smirked underneath his armor "Without a doubt he'll overtake me with no problem in a few years. Who knows, by the time he get to be twenty he could be at general level or higher."

"I have no doubt that will happen. A pity that one us won't be able to see that day, we can't kid ourselves Bulat. The unspoken law of a duel of Imperial Arms is known to the both of us. When two wielders clash, only one can leave the battleground alive." Liver widened his stance and pointed his ring at Bulat "So in the name of the Great General Esdeath, I will kill you, _old friend._"

Bulat responded by leveling his red spear at Liver's chest "Then likewise, I will kill you in the name of Night Raid, _old friend_."

Liver cracked a smile "I wouldn't have any other way."

All around the former general, the water from the river and storage barrels erupted up and out from their containers. The water formed into several water dragons that formed ranks around Liver, Bulat didn't care for the show of strength and ran straight into the fray. The water dragons shot out at the approaching assassin but Bulats superior speed made the dragons miss their mark and hit the deck of the ships. The dragons made sizable holes in the ship but at least there wasn't much of a chance that the ship will sink. The real danger of sinking the ship was Daidara and Sheele's battle, the latter tried and failed to hit the former. The holes that Daidara double axe were making damages to the ship that Liver couldn't even compete. In fairness Liver was sacrificing power for more speed in order to hit Bulat so his attacks were a fraction of its max power. So Liver was making a conscious effort to keep himself from going all out, Daidara on the other hand was doing everything in his power to make the maximum destruction possible.

Daidara split his axe in two and began swinging at Sheele in practiced rhythms. Sheele ducked and rolled in-between his strikes and not once did she make an attempt to block. When the opportunity presented itself, Sheele moved in with her own Imperial arm but Daidara moved faster than Sheele would've expected from the big man. She shot forward between his guard with Extase but Daidara jumped back. The two stared down each other for a few moments before Daidara broke into a made toothy grin "You're worth so much experience, I'm shaking with excitement!"

Sheele studied him with a cold expression without saying anything. She opened Extase and charged the Three Beasts member.

Daidara just smiles madly in response, he threw one of his axe halves at Sheele. It spun in the air, going in a crazed arc at Sheele forcing the senior Night Raid member to jump back. What should happen is that the axe handle should stop where it was when it hit the ground. What actually happened was the ability of Daidara's Imperial Arm Belvaac, the demon axe's halves would continue until caught by the wielder or they destroyed their intended target. One of them came close but Sheele moved Extase so that the scissors took the brunt of the impact. Despite not being their owners grasp the attack still had the same monstrous strength they normally would have. Sheele dived out of the way of the axe, she rolled and made a break for Daidara. The big man's grin got even larger if it was possible as Sheele got closer to him. Belvaac's other half was coming up behind Sheele fast and in Daidara's eyes she didn't see it coming. Daidara brought his single axe down on Sheele while his other hand reached out to grab the incoming axe. At the last moment Sheele dove between his legs using this moment to strike. As she went under Daidara, Sheele opened Extase just enough to fit the man's huge ankle into the Imperial Arms edge. Extase's edge can cut through any armor without fail so needless to say, Daidara's leg was cut straight through like it was melted butter. With his leg cut from under him Daidara fell forward right into the path of Belvaac's second half. Sheele expected the axe half to impale its master and that would be that but the big man proved more adept than she had thought. Even when falling face first he still managed to grab his weapon and save himself from being killed. He quickly turned on his good leg and tried to take a battle stance but his now of balance frame kept that from helping him any. For once he looked uneasy, his psychotic smirk had disappeared and a hint of fear was coming into his eyes. Sheele allowed her own mad smirk to grace her lips "Is this enough experience?" she asked.

Sheele rushed at Daidara, laughing all the way. Sheele jumped high to avoid Daidara's strikes but one found its mark. It was a small cut on her leg but it did little to stop the assassin from continuing her attack. Daidara barely had time to look up before Sheele came down with Extase like the Angel of Death. The Imperial Arm cut through his head and all the way down his through his torso. By the time Sheele landed and straightened up, Daidara's now two halves were laying in a bloody mess next to her. Sheele smiled at her good work but the smile disappeared when Tatsumi flew past her. He had been hit hard by his opponent and he landed badly on his shoulder "Tatsumi!" Sheele called in concern. She ran up and helped up the brown haired swordsmen. Tatsumi chuckled as he was helped up "You beat the big guy, Bulats going to mop the floor with that general guy and I end up needing help to get up from some kid who looks younger then me."

"You did your best Tatsumi, thats all we can ask for." Sheele said looking at Tatsumi's opponent.

Nyau stood a few paces away smiling at the two tired Night Raid members. His battle with Tatsumi clearly showed, his clothes were cut and torn and a few fresh bruises were on his arms and face. Tatsumi forced Sheele's arms off of him and he took a fighting stance. Sheele followed his example and Nyau lost his cockiness that he had when he was fighting Tatsumi. However, before any of the three fighters could start their respective round two the Ryuusen shook violently barely making the three loose their balance. They look over and saw that the battle between Liver and Bulat was coming to a close. Both men were panting for breath, their bodies filled with cuts and bruises. Bulat was out of his armor, wielding a sword that Tatsumi didn't know Bulat had. Liver was clearly worse of the two of them, his wounds were far more distressing to a doctor. He had far more cuts then Bulat and his clothes looked like he had just walked through hell. One of Liver's arms was hanging useless at his side while his other arm held a short sword. The two men locked eyes for one second before they charged each other again. Neither of them carried for their own safety and reclasly stabbed with their respective blade. Both gave one final battle cry, and then the two fell silent as they stood right next to each other.

Liver felt the blood running down his chest right before the drug he took to increase his strength for the fight gave out. He smiled "I guess this is it Bulat."

"Yeah, it's over." Bulat responded. Bulat pushed his old friend off of him, making him unceremoniously fall back onto the deck of the ship. Bulat gave his teacher one final look before he slowly limped over to Tatsumi and Sheele. Tatsumi was grinning from ear to ear and Sheele had a happy smile on her face as well "You are amazing Bulat!" Tatsumi shouted.

Bulat smirked as he joined his teammates. All three of them then turned to the final member of the Three Beasts. Nyau, for the situation he was faced with looked rather calm and collected. His gaze hardened as he slowly walked forward and he brought out his flute. He played a song none of them recognized and suddenly his muscle mass tripled to the point where his shirt and pants could barely contain the huge mass that he had gained so suddenly. All three tired Night Raid members took a stance and the action made Nyau smirk "You guys are really bad at your job."

"Really? You're about to die so why would you say that?" Tatsumi asked.

Nyau said nothing, he just crossed his arms and looked at the space behind Tatsumi. Tatsumi looked confused but Sheele and Bulat who had far more battle experience then Tatsumi felt fear come into them. Both of them guessed what was about to happen but of the two of them Bulat moved faster. He turned around and coming straight at Tatsumi were hundreds of bullets made of blood. Liver was laying in a pool of rapidly dissolving blood, his finger which held his Imperial arms was pointed right at the group. Bulat didn't think, thinking takes time and he didn't have that luxury. So instead he acted, he pushed Tatsumi forward and put himself between the two of them and the approaching storm of death. Bulat spread his arms wide and allowed the blades of blood to hit him as he stood as the wall between his friends and death. Bulat screamed in determination as he held strong against the storm, then when it was all over Tatsumi looked up at his friend in horrific realization "Bulat."

Bulat let his arms fall to his side as he slowly turned around to look at his friends. He took one step forward before he fell into Tatsumi's arms. The old soldier slumped up against his small friend "Huh, I guess I'm the first one to bite it, damn."

"Shut up." Tatsumi said, tears forming at the corner of his eyes "You're going to be fine."

Bulat laughed weakly "Well if you said so, as a man I can't let my little buddy down now can I?"

"Thats right." Sheele agreed, tears were already forming on her eyes.

Nyau cleared his throat "Sorry to interrupt the lovey dovey friend moment, but I have to kill you all now. Nothing personal, just orders I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

Sheele put herself between Tatsumi and Nyau but she fell to her side. Sheele looked down and swore, the 'small' wound that Daidara had inflicted turned out to be big problem. Her leg was covered in blood leaking from the wound and she could barely stand up with the faulty extension. Nyau smiled "It looks like that big idiot actually did something worthwhile. So, lets see how you do against me with only one leg lady!"

Nyau jumped forward and Sheele even though she couldn't do much, rushed out to meet him. She was wounded, yes. She had little to no chance of winning with the wound probable but that wasn't going to stop her. Sheele had just watch one of her closest friends jump in front of an attack that would've killed both Tatsumi and her. She couldn't just insult him by not protecting the same people in return. Sheele came in to attack but her injured leg slowed her down and Nyau had gotten more then just strength from the power up. He sidestepped Sheele's attack and easily as batting a fly out of the air he knocked Extase out of her hand with a single punch to her wrist. Tatsumi could hear bones brake and Sheele screamed in pain. Nyau kicked her in the chest sending her stumbling back, it was clear that he was just toying with her. Tatsumi gripped his sword hard and he grounded his teeth in frustration. He wanted to help but Nyau had overpowered him without the power up so what could he do now. Tatsumi felt someone tap him on the shoulder and he looked down to see Bulat holding up his sword "T-Tatsumi, take this."

Tatsumi tentatively took the sword "What is this?"

"This is Incursio's key. The armor will come to any who has this key."

"HAHAHAHA!" Nyau laughed. Tatsumi looked over to the Empire dog. He was standing over Sheele, ready to end her life but he was clearly taking his time and enjoying the fight. He had overheard Bulat's and Tatsumi's conversation "You're serious? Incursio places a huge strain on the user right? If any normal person tries to wear it they will die instantly. In all fairness kid I'll give you some advice. Fight as you normally do, or kill yourself trying to put on a lost cause."

Tatsumi shook in his bost. He knew he shouldn't listen to him but he knew Nyau was right. Incursio was considered one of the most dangerous Imperial Arms to wield because of how prepared the wielder's body had to be in order to wield it. Tatsumi didn't know if he was ready and a thousand questions swarmed his head. Was he strong enough? Could he wear the armor? Even if both of those questions were proved true he didn't know if he cou-"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM YOU IDIOT!" Bulat screamed.

Bulat forced himself up and put Incursio's key in Tatsumi's hand before punching some sense into him "Don't get caught up in your opponent's pace you dumbass! Think of your training and all of the experiences that you've been through, think of those and you're more than qualified to wear that armor!"

Tatsumi rubbed his chin where Bulat had hit him. Nyau rolled his eyes "There's still the matter of compatibility you know. If the Imperial Arm doesn't suit his subconscious he'll die."

Bulat let out a weak laugh "Compatibility is mostly about the first impression and how he sees the Imperial Arm. Roughly anyway, so if it's you, you'll do it. Tatsumi, show this idiot your passion!"

Tatsumi stared at Bulat before letting out a weak laugh "If someone I respect says this about me. Then who am I to let him down?"

Tatsumi slowly stood up, he brought the sword Bulat had given him in a stance that he felt was right. Tatsumi took a deep breath and Nyau sighed "You're really going to try it aren't you? Well then I'll just kill you before it comes out!"

Nyau jumped at Tatsumi but he stood as still as a stone "Let your soul rage and roar Tatsumi!"

**"_OHHHHHHHH!INCURSIO!_**" Tatsumi screamed.

The eye gem on the center of Incursio's key glowed yellow and suddenly Incursio's power shot out and materialized behind Tatsumi. The force of the power stopped Nyau's attack in its tracks "What the hell!?" he screamed.

Bulat smiled, Tatsumi was doing it, Incursio was expecting him. Suddenly the face piece of Incursio's power ripped itself apart to reveal a dragons mouth and its hands elongated into talons. It looked down at Tatsumi and devoured him and a second later a flash of smoke filled the deck of the ship. When it cleared Incursio's armor stood tall and proud in perfect condition, it looked far more powerful than Bulats version that everyone had seen a few minutes ago "You three have used Night Raids name in vain to commit atrocities again and again. Well then, it's time for you to receive your reward."

Nyau felt a bead of sweat run down his face. He let out a nervous laugh "You think that just because you didn't die from the initial transformation that you'll win?"

Tatsumi looked down at his now armored hand "I understand. This armor forcibly increases my strength, so I know I'll beat you."

"You think so? COME AND TRY IT!" Nyau screamed. The two warriors shot forward at each other for the strike that would decide who would walk out of the ship alive. Their fists clashed and the shock wave created pushed everyone watching back, but it didn't last long. Tatsumi let out a war cry and gave another shot of power into his punch. Nyau didn't have time to even blink before he was shot backwards like he was hit by a cannon ball. The final member of General Esdeath Elite guard impacted on the wall on the other end of the ship, turning the stone working into dust with the force of his punch. Tatsumi stood where he was for a moment before dispelling the armor "Bulat, Sheele, I did it! I did-."

He turned to see Bulat smile one last time before he closed his eyes and fell over. Tatsumi rushed to his friend and Sheele picked herself up to join him. Tatsumi fell down to his knees next to Bulat's body he gripped Incursio's key so hard his knuckles turned white "Bulat, thanks to you I was able to save Sheele. So, I'm sorry. In the end I did things that you would've hit me for. But I promise you, I'll become strong and even surpass your power with Incursio."

Even though Tatsumi wanted to do everything in his power to respect Bulat he felt the tears coming down "So, because of that. Its ok if I cry a little right now right?"

**Base of Night Raid (Several Hours Later)**

Everyone had returned to base and everyone was shocked when Tatsumi and Sheele delivered the news. Najenda had ordered everyone to take some time to grieve and each member had gone their separate ways. Kaneki went to the training yard where he had first met the man named Bulat. Over looking the yard was a set of practice swords and spears along with Bulats personal saying "_Train Everyday_"

Kaneki smiled a little when he read the words. He hadn't know Bulat long but Kaneki could tell he was a man of his word and was an all around great man. Kaneki bowed his head before the sign and said a silent prayer to his short lived comrade. The sound of water being spilled and a bucket falling over made Kaneki look over to the source of the sound. It came from behind the corner leading to the training yard and as Kaneki turned the corner he caught sight of an almost comical sight. Sheele was laying down next to the spilled bucket, her purple dress was wet with soapy water and another cleaning bucket on top of her head. Sheele was staring at nothing in particular and she didn't even move when Kaneki knelt down and removed the bucket from her head "Sheele, it's two in the morning, why are you cleaning."

Sheele finally seemed to notice Kaneki's presence and she drunkenly looked over the mess next to her "Well, it was Bulats job to clean the yard. Since I don't have a job and he's gone now someone has to do it."

She slowly got up, using a mop handle as support. Sheele started lazily moving the dry mop around in circles in a vain attempt to clean anything. Kaneki sighed "I'm sorry for your loss."

Sheele didn't stop dry mopping, her head was dropped down, her gaze straight on the floor. Kaneki continued "I have only been a part of this team for a few days. I didn't get to know Bulat as well as you did I'm sure but I can say this for certainty. He was a great man, the kind that only comes along once in a lifetime. He was kind, strong and willing to do anything to help his friends." No reaction.

Kaneki put a tentative hand on Sheele's shoulder. She stopped mopping but she made no move to remove Kaneki's hand "Sheele, if you're going to cry, cry. I know what you're going through and I-"

Faster than Kaneki expected Sheele to ever move she turned around grabbing his neck. She forced him to the wall her hand still on his neck and her eyes filled with pained anger "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!?" she demanded "How the hell would you know what it's like!?"

Kaneki made no move to provoke her, with her hand on his neck it was hard to breathe but he forced the words out of his mouth "To be able to do nothing be watch as someone you care about, someone you call friend dies before you. That feeling of helplessness and the feeling that in their final moments you were too weak to stop someone you care about from dying. And to top it all off they have the sickening kindness to make their last act on earth smiling at you. Sheele. I have felt that pain more than once."

Sheele stared up at him, her anger never fading. But then a stream of tears began flowing from her eyes. She let go of Kaneki's neck and buried her head in his shoulder as she began to cry. Kaneki wrapped his arms around her as comfortingly as he could as Sheele's legs fell from under her. The two slowly fell to the floor as Kaneki comfortingly carried Sheele down. He was leaning against the wall as Sheele mourned the death of her friend. Kaneki brushed her hair and held her close "You can cry for all night Sheele." he said softly "Stop crying when your heart tells you its enough."

Kaneki felt Sheele nod once before she continued crying. Unbeknownst to the two mourners, two figures were watching them from the shadows. Tatsumi and Lubbock were leaning against the wall of the hallway leading to the training yard. They had also heard the sound of Sheele messing up the cleaning bucket and went to see what was wrong. They had watched the whole encounter and Tatsumi for one had seen enough. He got off of the wall "Still think he's a spy?" he asked Lubbock on his way passed.

Lubbock said nothing to Tatsumi and he wordlessly followed him back to the rooms. That night, a good man, an Assassin and one of the greatest friends to ever come to Night Raid had fallen. And the only sound that was heard in that secret base was a crying girl and the monster trying to comforting her.

**Authors Note: **

**A red box of Plot appeared, What could it be? (JK) Sorry I'll admit I did kind of RailRoad Kaneki getting his Imperial Arm but I want that thing in the story as soon as possible. **

**And so I get this out of my system *Takes deep breath* **

…

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**MY GOD FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, I DON'T HAVE SCHOOL FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS BUT SHIT KEEPS PILING UP LIKE FREAKING CATHOLIC RABBITS! (Sorry had to get that out of my system work and family matters are keeping me from writing) **

**I'm going to say this tentatively, now that I have free time for the foreseeable future (Unless my family/work decides that's not going to happen) I will be pumping out chapter's every 12 or 14 days if time permits. The only reason that the chapters don't come out like that is that I'm either without internet/Working/The chapters longer than normal. I will try my hardest to keep to this schedule but it might get a little off track but I will work hard nonetheless. So far the story board is filling in nicely and I have the next couple of chapters planned.**

**And yes, not even the addition of a new character in a situation will stop Bulat from dying just like he did in cannon. I'm going to lose a few favorites because of this but hey, both series are tragedies so I don't know what you guys were expecting (I might need to buy flame shields for the future). So yeah, had to kill off Bulat. Even though he's one of my favorite characters Tatsumi needs Incursio because let's face it, Tatsumi is a lot more badass in that armor then Bulat was. **

**Also this is the longest chapter so far. It makes me wonder if it would be better to make big chapters or keep it at about 6K for each chapter. So guys tell me, do you like shorter or longer chapters? Send me a PM or Review with your answer. As to the question why this chapter is so long…Don't keep me in a plane for seven hours with no internet and just my laptop.**

**One last thing, when I said TatsumixEsdeath I was referring to the one sided attraction/plot device and not an actual pairing. If any of you thought I shipped the two of them please get your head checked. I am an insane psychopath hiding in a normal person, trust me I know, but that bitch makes me and all of my ilk look like freaking Gandhi. **

**So if you found this, Thanks for reading :)**


	7. In come the Hunters

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill**

**One Week Later**

Kaneki absentmindedly wiped down the countertops and tables of Anteiku. The day was Sunday so the café was closed so Kaneki was going to join up with Night Raid once he was finished. It had been a week since Bulat's death and everyone back at the base was grieving, except Tatsumi. After Bulat's death he was determined to surpass his old friends power so he was training near everyday. Kaneki had heard from Sheele that he was doing push ups with Akame on his back for strength training. Now, finally Night Raid and Kaneki had a stable means of communicating, Tatsumi actually did his job.

After Kaneki had talked to Night Raid he had left back for the capitol under the cover of night. On the way he met no problems and he had managed to tear down a poster of his likeness on the way into town. The journey was uninteresting, but what happened before he left was the real interesting part of the week. Kaneki looked around to see that no one was watching before he rolled up the seam of his sleeve. As he rolled up the fabric just until he could see the outline of a red tentacle tattoo on his arm.

**One Week Ago (Main hall of Night Raid) **

_Kaneki, Lubbock and Akame stood before Najenda as they reported everything that had happened in their mission. Lubbock explained that Kaneki was able to save the official and defeat a large portion of the mercenary force. Kaneki didn't show it but Lubbock surprise change of attitude from what he normally exhibited was a little unsettling. Did Lubbock take something to give him a personality flip? As Lubbock finished up his end of the story Akame filled in the minor details "...Afterwards we met up in town square to take Official Coda to the town hospital. The only other news to report was what Kaneki found." _

_This little bit of information piqued everyone's interest "What did you find?" Tatsumi asked, curiosity showing on his face. _

_Kaneki sighed his normal board sigh that everyone in the room had now gotten accustomed to. Kaneki took out the small red box from behind him and presented it to Najenda. Najenda raised her only good eyebrow and took the box with her metal hand "What is it?" _

_"No idea." Kaneki responded. _

_Najenda looked it over "Do you know what's inside?" _

_Kaneki shook his head no and Najenda got a crafty smile on her lips "Well we better find out." she said removing the lid. _

_Silence filled the room as all of the assassins waited for their boss to respond with what was inside, but they saw Najenda's expression and suddenly they didn't want to know anymore. Najenda had visibly paled as she looked at the contents of the box. Everyone watching, with the exception of Kaneki and AKame felt their sweat drop. If something could take the words out of Boss's mouth then it wasn't good. Kaneki rolled his eye before walking behind Najenda to see inside the box. The inside of the box was like a royal bed room with more fancy padding than Kaneki could care for or look at with a straight face. Resting in the middle of the padding was a blood red metal vile. All around the vile ornate designs of war and carnage making the vile look like a precursor to the designs that it entailed. Najenda knew what this was as soon as she saw it, she had spent a large chunk of her career as a general looking for this. Kaneki casually picked up the vile "All of that secret treasure nonsense and it's just a fancy shot glass." _

_Everyone looking at Kaneki suddenly felt their jaws hit the floor as they watched. Najenda looked at Kaneki with fear filled eyes and Kaneki looked at her questioningly "What?" _

_"Do you have any idea what that is?" Najenda asked. _

_"No, I assume its some Imperial arm from how all of you are acting." Kaneki guessed. _

_Najenda nodded "That right there is one of the oldest Imperial Arms known to the empire, the Ketsueki Shinigami." _

_Tatsumi blinked in confusion along with Mine who was right next to him. Mine scratched her head "Ketsuky What?" she asked. _

_"Ketsueki shinigami." Najenda repeated "It was named after something from the emperor's time. To this day no one knows what it-." _

_"Loosely translated it means the Blood Reaper." Kaneki interrupted. _

_Once again everyone looked at Kaneki in shock "How do you know that?" Leone asked. _

_"Its Japanese." Kaneki explained "How is it that we speak the same language but they can't figure out simple translation." he thought. _

_Najenda waved the comment aside "Anyway we need to remain focused." _

_Kaneki nodded and put the vile back into the case "Thank you." Najenda said putting the box away at the side of her chair "Now down to business. As of yesterday, General Esdeath's main force, the Three beasts have been utterly decimated. As such she has ordered the summoning of a new team. There will be an unknown total of members and this will be our plan for the next few days. First, I will be leaving to journey outside the empire." _

_All of the senior Night Raid members opened their mouths to protest but Najenda silenced them by raising her hand "I'm going to take the imperial arms that we gathered from the Three Beasts and give them to the army to help them advance." _

_Najenda looked down at the red box before continuing "Even with the Three Beasts dealt with General Esdeath won't sit by and let us do what we want. And I'm sorry to say but we don't have the fighting strength to go against her right now." _

_The assertion that all of those that were present couldn't match Esdeath made more than one member clench their fists in anger. Kaneki didn't react to the statement, he was the one who said it first after all. _

_Najenda continued "Second I'm putting Akame in charge." _

_Akame instantly shot to attention "Your orders?" _

_"Train." Najenda said "Everyone is to become as strong as they can till the time that I return." Najenda turned to Kaneki, the Ghoul hybrid raised an eyebrow "I need the names and the number of people that are going to be in Esdeath's group. Don't think you can't have a nice chat over a nice thing of coffee?" _

_Kaneki smiled "I don't think that should be much of a problem." he said. _

_Najenda nodded "Dismissed!" she ordered. _

_Night Raid, and surprisingly Kaneki included, bowed. As everyone started moving to their rooms Lubbock came up to Najenda with Mine. Najenda had just put a new cigar in her mouth and blew out a puff of smoke before asking "What?" _

_Lubbock shrugged "I jus-." Mine sent a hard elbow into the green haired man's ribs. Lubbock sucked in air for all he was worth and he shot a glare at Mine before continuing "We were just wondering, what does the new Imperial Arm do?" _

_Najenda raised her eyebrow "Why do you want to know? You both already have Imperial Arms and someone can't have two. The only one here that can use it is Kaneki here." _

_Kaneki rolled his eyes "I don't need an Imperial arm." he said stating the obvious. So far Kaneki had gone up against people that two of the senior members couldn't handle alone, and the only evidence that there ever was a fight was the small pile of meat in his stomach._

_Mine shook her head back and forth "I don't care if we can't use it, I just want to see what it does!" she shouted. _

_The shouting stopped Tatsumi and Sheele from leaving. Both assassins turned where they were and decided that they might as well see what was about to happen. Najenda sighed and picked up the box "It's an extract based Imperial Arm," she explained "You need to drink it and have it accept you before you can see what it can do." _

_Lubbock shrugged "Well we can at least see what it looks like in the light right?" he asked. _

_Lubbock picked up the vile and almost instantly Kaneki and Najenda knew something was wrong. Lubbock stood there unmoving looking down at the vile, his eyes glossed over. Mine looked between Lubbock and the vile "Um hello? Anyone in there?!" she asked. _

_Lubbock turned towards her and Mine flitched. Lubbock's eyes were dead and Mine watched in horror as crimson red began to fill the spaces in his eyes till there was nothing left but red "Lubbock?" she asked, sounding worried and Kaneki blinked at the action. _

_Lubbock put on an a smile, the kind that serial killers would have on when they were about to kill their first victim. Kaneki recognized the look and fast as a bullet Kaneki grabbed Mine and carried her bridal style away from Lubbock. Najenda got away as well although not as fast. Mine's mind barely had time to process what just happened and she was about to voice an opinion that would involve a lot of swearing, but then she saw Lubbock jump at the space where she once was. He slammed a strike down at the ground that only recently was occupied with enough force the make the ground crack and bring a small cloud of dust into the air. Night Raid was instantly ready, drawing their weapons on their friend "Lubbock!" Tatsumi yelled "What the hell man?" _

_Lubbock got up from where he was on the ground and he looked over the group. When he saw them his mouth started watering and he started to drool. Everyone was a little unnerved by the action and took a step back. Kaneki dropped Mine down in front of him and surprising him for the second time in this many moments, she didn't yell at him for carrying her. Kaneki and Tatsumi took a position between the group and Lubbock "Lubbock." Tatsumi said his voice dangerously low "What the hell?" _

_Lubbock looked Kaneki and Tatsumi over and he smiled again "So much." he whispered "So much, it's flowing through all of you like rivers of radiance."_

_Kaneki's eye narrowed "What's flowing?" _

_Lubbock bent down, like a animal about to pounce on its prey "Give it to me. Give me your BLOOD!" he said as he jumped at the group. _

_He was aimed right at Kaneki and the white haired ghoul barely sidestepped out of the way. Kaneki used his momentum to quickly put his hand on the back of Lubbock's neck. Using his inhuman strength he slammed Lubbock down to the ground pinning him. Kaneki then jumped over on top of Lubbock and he used his legs to pin the rest of the assassins limbs in place. Kaneki then took the arm that was holding the vial and forced it behind him in a holding position. By this time the rest of Night Raid had surrounded the two of them. Sheele had her scissors over Lubbock's neck, Mine's pumpkin over his heart. Incidentally Kaneki was in the way of the shot but he didn't put it passed the pink haired assassin to put them both down with one shot. Leone somehow had turned into her beast form without anyone apparently noticing and was in a battle stance away from the group. Najenda was trying her best to remain calm but she looked to be taking this outburst the hardest. Kaneki glanced at her and she was trying hard to make herself stop shaking, it wasn't working ever surprisingly was the only one being calm, his own weapon not pointed at his comrade "Lubbock." Tatsumi almost growled, scratch the calm "What are you doing?" _

_Lubbock's only answer was to snap his teeth at Tatsumi like he was an animal trying to get to a piece of meat. Kaneki tightened his grip on Lubbock's neck. The teen thrashed as the air was cut off from his lungs and he slowly stopped moving. Leone and Akame quickly realized what Kaneki was doing and they put their hands out in front of them so that the others wouldn't get involved. Kaneki raised an eyebrow, apparently they trusted him enough to continue doing his job. When Kaneki started to feel Lubbock's stop shrugging he tightened his grip to speed the process. When it was finally over Lubbock was slumped face down on the ground unmoving except the slow up and down motion of his breathing. Lubbock's arms lost their strength as well and the vile Imperial Arm fell out of his hand. Kaneki quickly grabbed the vial before anyone could touch it. _

_Kaneki stood up and everyone around him was silent for a moment. Mine broke the silence with her customary tone "Ok, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?"_

_"You got me." Leone said, her from returning to normal "My eye might've been playing tricks on me but let me go over it again. Lubbock just touches that vile and he tries to kill us?" _

_"Yep." Tatsumi said "That pretty much sums it up." _

_Sheele remained quiet throughout the conversation. She didn't want anything to go bad so she picked up Lubbock's sleeping form and began to carry it to his room. Najenda glanced at Kaneki and the vile in his hand "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kaneki asked. _

_Najenda breathed out a puff of smoke and exhaled deeply "Yes." she said. _

_"Hang on." Mine said, her annoyed tone returning in full force "Please warn us next time you two are about to do that, I can't keep up. So, what are you two thinking about?" _

_Kaneki rolled his eyes "This thing has the ability to make whoever holds it go insane with bloodlust, making them go as far as to attack those they consider friend." _

_"And while Lubbock couldn't even open his mouth without drooling all over the carpet. Kaneki can hold it without any problems. My guess is that he's the most compatible with the Imperial arm and those that aren't go insane like we saw before." _

_Tatsumi's eyes gained a worried look "Will Lubbock be-?" _

_"I don't know." Najenda said "This Imperial arm hasn't been used since the time of the first emperor. The Emperor's records held little to no information on it." _

_"A nap or two wont hurt the guy." Kaneki said bluntly. _

_"Anyway if Lubbock was anything to go on anyone who isn't compatable becomes insane. If we send this Imperial Arm to the army, they might lose more members then this Arm will save trying to find a compatible person. I know I'm choosing the easiest option but we don't have time to argue with each other over what should and shouldn't be done." _

_"Hey you don't have to be all doom and gloom boss. We trust your judgment till the day that we die, so don't worry about it. If you say that this is the best option then we're all for it." Leone said with a smile. _

_Tatsumi did a quick nod with his head. Mine rolled her eyes but the edges of her mouth were spreading into a smile. Akame remained as neutral as ever, she copied Tatsumi's quick nod. Najenda smiled at her team before turning to Kaneki "It's your choice." _

_Kaneki looked between the vile and everyone there. The pros were simple, he would be able to gain even more power and his chances of being able to fight against the empire even harder. With this Imperial Arm, he could stand against Esdeath on his terms. The cons were also simple, if simply touching the vile got people into a bloodlust what would actually drinking the contents do? Kaneki's mind flashed back to all the mistakes he had made in the last few years. He felt himself smirk, What's one more mistake to add to the pile? _

_Without giving himself time to stop he quickly ripped the top off of the vile and downed the liquid within in a single gulp. Kaneki let the vile of now empty Imperial Arm. Everyone watching held their breath as they waited for something to happen. Kaneki looked down at his hand "Well that was anticlimactic." he said. _

_Tatsumi blinked "Is that it?" _

_Kaneki shrugged "Well thats-." Kaneki stopped himself as his vision started blackening. _

_Kaneki put a hand to his eye and he started breathing hard. His throat felt like it was on fire and with each beat of his heart pain shot through him. He doubled over and screamed in pain. Tatsumi rushed forward to help him but Akame held out her arm and stopped him. Kaneki kept screaming as images swirled through his head. Kaneki found himself back in Tokyo. All around him people he once knew walked around him. Touka was smiling at him before she suddenly melted into a pool of blood. Hide appeared before him as well. He was smiling but his stomach was ripped open, like a ghoul had eaten him. Kaneki felt his mouth get filled with blood and he looked down to see Hide's guts in his hands. Kaneki couldn't help himself and he screamed once again and images filled his head again. He saw images of war violence and they made his mouth water. So many people, so much food! It was like someone was dangling a perfect, juicy piece of meat right in front of him when he hasn't' eaten anything in weeks. Kaneki's eye shot open and it looked around the room in a frenzy. It got a good look at everyone, they looked delicious. Kaneki wanted nothing more in the instant to rip them apart, eat and savor every inch of their flesh. But the blood, oh the blood was going to be delicious. _

_Kaneki forced his resolve to the surface. With a deafening war cry he through himself to his feet and forced all of his anger to the surface. This thing, whatever it was was drawing on the most painful memories. If it wanted memories, Kaneki had painful memories in spades. He forced himself to remember the CCG attack on Anteiku, his final battle with Amon and the last moment he saw Hide. He remembered watching in horror as Ryouko was butchered in front of him while he kept Hinami from watching. Kaneki felt the blood gush out of him as he recalled Yamori's torture. "You want blood and pain? I have so much of both, so tell me. ARE. YOU. HUNGRY?!" he screamed in his head. _

_The images suddenly cut out and Kaneki found himself back at the Night Raid base. Everyone was staring at him in shock, even Sheele was there, how long was he screaming that he didn't notice her coming back? Kaneki winced in pain when he felt a burning sensation on his arm. He looked over his right arm and the sight that greeted him shook him to the core. All along his arm a red glowing tattoo shown out in crimson light. It designed itself into the shape of a scythe and several tentacles, two of which nearly stretched down to Kaneki's hand. The tattoo pulsed a steady red crimson and each time the light pulsed, Kaneki felt his heart beat in his chest. As his heart continued to beat the tattoo seemed to move as if its waiting for something. _

_Kaneki put a hand to his head "How long was I screaming?" _

_Tatsumi gulped "About three minutes, you didn't hurt anyone but you might want to relay the cement." he said pointing down. _

_Kaneki looked at his feet and saw what Tatsumi was looking at. All around him miniature divots creating craters all around him. Najenda looked Kaneki over "How do you feel?" _

_Kaneki clenched both of his fists and a crazy smile graced his lips "Like I could kill everyone." _

**Present **

Kaneki quickly out his sleeve over the tattoo and continued to look like a normal cafe owner. About five minutes later he heard a knock on the door. Kaneki glanced at the door and said "Come in."

The door chime sounded as the door slid open. To revile Esdeath, and she was smiling, shit. Kaneki hid all emotion from his face except his smile "Esdeath, what can I do for you?"

Esdeath walked up to the counter wordlessly and slammed a file that she had hidden behind her. Kaneki glanced from the file to Esdeath but he picked it up and looked through the contents. With each sentence his heart sank and his rage grew. When he was finished he slammed the file down on the countertop so hard the stone plating cracked. Esdeath smiled her 'I'm going to enjoy this smile' "I see you read it."

"What. The. Hell Esdeath." Kaneki said, venom dripping from each word. He pointed at the file "This is direct orders from the emperor to close my shop! Why the fuck are you shutting me down?!" he shouted.

He was pissed, no, far from that he was livid. Kaneki wanted to jump atop of Esdeath and rip her apart. This place was his last home away from home, the one place that he could call his and the one place where nothing would ever go wrong for him. The Esdeath walked in a dropped this on him. So he demanded an answer. Esdeath sighed before taking a seat. The two of them waited in silence before Esdeath broke it "Kaneki I need you."

Kaneki rolled his eye "You've been saying that for three years, and again I'm going to say-."

"But you did say that you would defend the Capitol did you not?" Esdeath asked interrupting him "The revolutionary army is getting to close for comfort. I'm sure you've heard that the my team died by the hands of Night Raid?"

Kaneki nodded, the 'Innocent' him would've seen it on his way to get coffee each morning "My condolences."

"Thank you. I'm creating a team of expert warriors to combat Night Raid, under direct orders from the Emperor I am making you their combat and tactics commander. You won't be on the front lines unless you want to, you will only be training them until they perfect their power."

"Sounds like I don't have much choice." Kaneki said dryly "I'll do it, one condition."

"Name it."

"I keep the house."

Esdeath nearly busted a gut trying to hold in a fit of maniacal laughter "Of all the things you could ask for you want to keep the house? Fine, it will be done."

Kaneki narrowed his eyes at the general in front of him "If you were just going to force me to join, why did you give me the wish scroll?"

Esdeath shrugged for show "The minister thought it would ease the process."

Kaneki sighed for show. In truth he only wanted the house so that he could keep an eye on the fake wall which housed his mask and suit. If the empire found those, lets just say that Kaneki's life would become more problematic than it already was.

Esdeath got up from her seat "I have a little party planned for the team." she reaches into her pocket, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Kaneki "These are the names of the team."

Kaneki took the list and read the list of names.

On the list were the following names, just first names for security reasons along with a very short bio on the name.

Wave: Man of the Sea. Follows orders to the letter, is normally outgoing and very protective of his comrades.

Bois: Shy, nice man who apols violence but has an aptitude for fire. Bashful when commented and is a natural friend to those who know him well.

Run: Gentle, kind and calculating teacher. Like Bois he doesn't enjoy violence, he would rather teach instead of kill.

Kurome: A prodigy in the art of combat. Don't ask her about her sweets.

Dr. Stylish: No comment, to stylish?

Kaneki raised an eyebrow at the question mark on the name. So far if the names were any indication only the Kurome, Wave and Doctor seemed a little off. Still can't be anything worse than what he was used to. Kaneki refolded the paper and put it in his pocket "Give me a few minutes to pack a few things."

Esdeath nodded "I look forward to everyone meeting the two of us."

Esdeath waved to Kaneki as she walked out of the door. Kaneki looked over the piece of paper with the names on it one more time. On the bottom of the paper was an address to a meeting room in the middle of the castle square. Kaneki put on a black overcoat to cover his waiter suit and went to work. He prepared enough travel coffee for ten people, hopefully it will be enough. As soon as he was done he walked out the door. His hand briefly went over the closed/open sign. Kaneki gritted his teeth before turning the sign to closed. He started making his way towards the location, hopefully something won't make him late.

He would later admit that he shouldn't tempt fate with such an easy ploy.

**Five minutes Earlier **

A young man in his late teens stepped into the streets of the main capitol. He was of average height and with his military grade jacket you couldn't take a good guess at his build. Around his neck was a black scarf with an anchor symbol colored white in the middle. His hair was black and his skin was tanned from being in the sun for long periods of time. Over his shoulder was a huge bag of fish and clothing. His name was Wave, and he was here to fight for the Empire as a true man of the Sea! (Exclamation point totally needed) His superiors had given him this assignment straight from the office of the head general herself. Wave smiled when he thought the whole idea over in his head, it was like a promotion.

This was Wave first time in the city, and as such he wanted to make a flashy entrance. The clothes he was currently wearing weren't his original attire but they made him look cool so he didn't care. As Wave was walking to his destination he noticed that a few of the people were giving him strange glances. He definitely heard something about 'A country bum' but he shook to comments out of his mind. He was a man who fought Pirates and Sea monsters, such little things can't bother him.

Wave continued walking towards his destination but first he looked through his orders to make sure everything was going well. The order was short and to the point so it only had a date, time and location for the meeting. The only other thing that was on it were two expertly drawn descriptions of his new commanding officers. One was a beautiful woman with long hair in a normal military uniform but she had her generals cap leaning slightly to the side. Wave guessed that this was General Esdeath, she was going to be the leader of the group after all. The other portret was off a man roughly a few years older than Wave himself. The portrait had him with dark hair, a straight emotionless face and an eyepatch over his left eye. On the bottom of the page had his name, Ken Kaneki, training/tactics supervisor.

Wave grinned from ear to ear, even though he was on the outer part of the empire he of course had heard all the rumors about the two he was going to work under. Esdeath, the woman who was called the empire's strongest soldier. Kaneki, the man who appealed violence but was able to hold his own against the general without breaking a sweat.

To be trained under and work with two of the strongest people in the empire. The very thought made Wave beam even more than he already was. With this he could compare himself to the greats, and show everyone back home how strong their traveling hero had become. Wave picked up his stride, his whole being shining with purpose. As he was walking he noticed a figure that stood out from the others. He had dyed jet black hair and Wave could only see the black over coat. Curiosity getting the better of him he quickened his pace and met with the stranger "Ho stranger!" he shouted.

The figure turned around and Wave thought that he must be the luckiest man alive. The face, the eyepatch it matched perfectly with the picture he was looking only moments before. Wave instantly breaks down into his best bow "Sorry that I didn't recognize you from behind Captain Kaneki!"

Kaneki raised an eyebrow at Wave. He pulled out a piece of paper, he looked at Wave and then back at the paper "You wouldn't happen to be the man named Wave would you?"

"HAI!" Wave shouted, his head still bowed "I am honored that you recognized me Captain!"

At this point the shouting started to garner attention and Kaneki was starting to get annoyed at all of the locals looking at him funny. He turned his attention to Wave "At ease Wave." annoyance dripping from his voice.

Wave stood back up and relaxed "So sir-"

"Call me Kaneki, no sir." Kaneki said quickly interrupting him and walking away.

"Yes sir!" Wave responded as he quickened his pace and came alongside Kaneki.

Kaneki briefly wondered if Wave was an airhead, he didn't need another one Sheele was enough for one day. He banished the thought as it came, Wave was probably under the impression that Kaneki was putting him in a test or something. It wasn't that at all actually, Wave had read the reports detailing Kaneki's achievements. Going up through the ranks, Wave looked to Kaneki as sort of an inspirational figure. Kaneki was what Wave inspired to be, a man with no past in the military but was still able to talk to and stand with the greats. To Wave, to do that, without the aid of some absurdly powerful imperial Arm was more impressive than any military victory in history. Wave was calling Kaneki sir out of military training that was drilled into him along with his own respect for Kaneki.

The two warriors walked through the streets in silence before Kaneki got curious "So Wave, where are you from?" Kaneki asked.

Wave just grinned in response and Kaneki felt like he just asked Shuu what his favorite dish was. Wave puffed his chest out and stood tall "I come from the land surrounded by the sea. The water is our life and it holds a just amount of death. My people live on the sea, fight on the sea, train on the sea and we die with our heads raised high!"

Kaneki looked around as soon as Wave had paused, sure enough the looks he was getting told him that those around him thought he was a nutter. Wave continued regardless "With the sea as my background I can take any training you see fit to give me. I swear, with heaven as my witness I will carry out any order you give me!"

Kaneki raised an eyebrow. The proclamation was something that had been repeated to the point that it was cliche. But it did hold promise and Kaneki felt a smirk come along the left corner of his mouth. "You will obey any order you say?"

"Yes!" Wave almost screamed "Any order."

"Any? Well then." Kaneki eyed the sword resting at Wave's belt "Take that sword and put it through your heart."

Wave instantly stopped walking and just watched as Kaneki kept walking. Wave put on a nervous smile before coming back to Kaneki's side "Um sir? Did you just asks me to-."

"You heard me." Kaneki interrupted again "You said you would follow any order. With the failing of ending your life right there you broke your promise to me within five minutes of the two of us meeting."

Wave looked between Kaneki and his Grand Chariot blade handle. His hand started to move towards the sword before patted the younger man on the shoulder "Touch that blade and you'll fail your first test."

Wave's eyes widened, to see if he would actually end his life was the test? Kaneki smiled like a teacher to his student "You Wave have been chosen to join what is going to be the most powerful, elite group of warriors the empire has put together since the time of the first Emperor. Your loyalty to my orders is adorable, but Wave. Know this, if your commanding officer orders you to end your life, there is no force, in heaven or hell that looks upon that commander and smiles. A commander's duty is to keep those under him from dying, to give them orders that will ensure their safety. That is the first and last order that will put you in a situation with no way out again Wave. As your commander and I hope one day your friend, you have my word."

Wave smiled and gave Kaneki the best solution he could give "Hai Sir!"

Kaneki smiled back, that was easier than he thought. With one over done speech Kaneki managed to earn both Wave's trust and his absolute faith. With this, Kaneki had possibly one of the best members of the new team in the palm of his hand. With his trust, Kaneki could do many thing, but he would be able to think on that later. By the time that Kaneki had mapped out a plan in his head the two of them had arrived at the meeting room. Kaneki and Wave both double checked the room to make sure they were in the right place. Kaneki was about to go in but Wave stopped him "I'm sorry sir, but I must ask that I go in first. I need this meeting to run smoothly because the people behind this door are going to be my teammates from now on. So in order to not be taken lightly, the first impression I make is critical."

Kaneki mentally rolled his eyes but outwardly he just gestured for Wave to go. Wave took a deep breath, tensing himself before bursting through the door "GOOD AFTERNOON! I'VE COME FROM THE IMPERIAL NAVY. MY NAME IS WA-"

In the only table in the room was sitting a man. He was wearing no shirt to hide the bulging muscles underneath his skin. That would've been fine for Wave but the fact that he sat there, unmoving, unspeaking with what appeared to be a white gas mask for a face unnerved Wave to the point where he couldn't speak.

"PARDON MY INTRUSION!" Wave screamed before quickly closing the door.

Wave sat down with the door at his back as he breathed heavily. Kaneki looked at Wave with a raised eyebrow "Great first impression." Kaneki commented under his breath.

Wave waved the comment off "It seems that we got this room mixed up with the department of torture."

Kaneki looked back and forth between the door and the paper in his hand "No, the meeting was going to be held in the special police force conference room. This is it."

Wave paled "So that means."

"Who ever you saw is your new teammate." Kaneki said dryly.

Wave's jaw dropped "What kind of place is the capital like? Pirates nowadays look more normal then that!" Wave complained.

Kaneki felt that he should tell him about the other people who would make that guy in there look more normal then an average pedestrian but he held his tongue. Kaneki moved Wave over so that he could open the door "Well then for now you should conduct yourself with decorum till General Esdeath arrives."

Kaneki opened the door and walked through, Wave followed close behind but he moved around far more awkwardly. Wave quickly took a seat but Kaneki stayed standing before bowing to the gas masked man. The man did nothing to acknowledge the action so Kaneki just sat himself down. The three men sat in their chairs in awkward silence that Kaneki and the gas masked man seemed to be unaffected by. Wave on the other hand shook back and forth with nervous tension. Just looking at the gas masked man gave Wave chills, what is up with this guy? He's just staring at the two of them like it's not awkward at all. The sound of the heavy door opening saved Wave from his fit of nervousness. The opened to reveal a short black haired girl. She stood no taller than five feet nothing but her eyes burned with a coldness that gave even Kaneki a second thought. She wore what Kaneki could've once considered a school girls uniform with a simple black shirt and a skirt that reached just above her knees. On waist the deadly edge of a katana sat sheathed. Wave smiled 'Yes, A normal girl!'

Kaneki on the other hand was trying not to call the new girl Akame. The resemblance was so uncanny that it couldn't be coincidence. A sister perhaps? Well whoever she was she wordlessly walked to the table and took a seat away from everyone else. She put a small bag in front of her, she opened it up and inside was a pile of candy. Wave got up from his seat and went to the girl "Hey. Are you one of the Imperial Arms users that was summoned here as well? Nice to meet you, I'm Wave-."

She protectively moved her bag of candy away from Wave "You can't have any of my candy."

Wave flinched and Kaneki's eye widened slightly, yep she was definitely Akame's sister. Wave awkwardly went back to his seat "Sorry to bother you." he said quickly.

The awkward silence reigned supreme again as the room went back to its original quietness. Thoughts were circling in Wave's head "_Shit, what is with this situation? One of them just sits there eating candy, you're going to get cavities like that you know! And the other one just sits there and stares at me, is Captain Kaneki the only normal one here besides me? Oh, things can't possibly get any worse_."

As soon as he finished the thought the double doors leading to the meeting room burst open. From the opening rose petals filled the room and floated down on the sitting group. "First impressions are so very important. And a first impression must benefit someone as stylish as myself." a voice said.

From the door a feminine looking man with a white business coat with a pink suit underneath. He saw Wave and Kaneki and he gave both of them a affectionate smile and a wink. Kaneki blinked, making sure he saw that right and Wave's jaw dropped again "_NOW WE HAVE A CRAZY HOMO!?_"

"Oh dear, you seem to be a country boy but you look very handsome. I can make you look even better, lets get along ok." he said with a wink to Wave.

Kaneki pitied Wave at that moment, but it was only a moment. "Oh good afternoon." a new voice said.

Everyone turned to the new voice. It came from a blond haired man with a winged headband and a long overcoat. He looked to Kaneki like an teachers cloak but with a black loose fitting suit underneath. To add to the looking of a teacher he carried a book under his arm. He walked up the table and Wave growned out "Nice to meet you, I'm Wave."

"Its good to meet you Wave, you may call me Ran. Its a pleasure to meet you." Ran said.

Wave's down demeanor instantly picked up, Finally a normal person! "Umm, Excuse me everyone."

Everyone turned their gazes again and found out that it was the gas masked man who had spoken. His voice was higher pitched than Wave would've guessed but he was to busy to think about that. He was busy looking at the steaming cups on the tray that he was holding. Everyone quickly found a seat at the table and the gas masked man gave everyone a drink. Kaneki tasted the water and it turned out to be very good tea. The man sat at his seat "I'm must apologize. This is our first meeting and I didn't greet any of you. I have a fear of strangers you see, I was very nervous. I have the most likely seniority here and I acted like that, please accept this tea as a sign of my apology. As fellow Imperial Arms users I feel that we should all get along. I'm Boss from from the incineration squad."

Wave nervously laughed "H-He has a fear of people with that appearance?"

Kaneki remained unphased as ever. He took another drink that Bois had given before standing "Do not blame yourself for shyness Bois, I feel that I must apologise as well. Well I hope to get this out of the way first, My name is Ken Kaneki, your training/tactics supervisor."

Everyone present looked at Kaneki in different levels of shock. All of them like Wave had read the reports and seen the posters but they still had a hard time believing that this was the famous Ken Kaneki. All of them had different starting opinions of the man. Ran saw Kaneki as a writer, Tokyo Ghoul being one of his personal favorite novels. The girl barely batted an eye at Kaneki's statement, she just didn't want him stealing her candy. Dr. Stylish looked at Kaneki with new interest. He could tell by the way that Kaneki held himself, he was definitely his type. Bois bowed his head "It's a pleasure to meet you Captain."

"I must say the same Mr. Kaneki." Ran said copying his bow.

Kaneki sat back down and took yet another drink from the tea "I must say Bois, your tea is quite amazing. I myself had prepared a batch of my cafe's coffee for this occasion but it seems that I needn't have done anything." he said holding up the traveling container.

Bois pirked up "Thank you for your compliments Captain. To here you say that about my personal brue is heartwarming to hear."

Kaneki raised his glass and everyone at the table with the exception of the doctor and the girl copied the motion. The group drank as one like all those before them. The group started going into senseless chatter but Kaneki didn't bother to pay attention. He was overlooking each and everyone in the room. They seemed to be innocent and weak enough but the girls katana and relation to Akame were one of the many things about the group that gave him pause. Bois didn't seem to have any weapon that Kaneki could see but you don't get onto the incineration squad without something to do with fire. Dr. Stylish didn't look to be a problem but Esdeath wanted him for something so he shouldn't let his guard down. The girl, she had to be Kurome, if she was anything like her supposed sister underestimating her would end up with his head off his shoulders. Ran looked to be the most collected of everyone, anyone who would look over and think through a fight was far deadlier than a normal berserker of a fighter.

As Kaneki was thinking he felt something slip into his pocket. He reached in without looking away from the group in front of him. It was a crumpled piece of paper that read 'Don't interfere.'

Kaneki tilted his head in confusion but then he felt another presence in the room. He looked over and saw what he wasn't supposed to interfere with. A figure that seemed to appear out of no where came into the room. It had a grey skull mask and the most body armor that Kaneki had seen on a single person, apart from General Budo. Wave was the first besides Kaneki to notice the newcomer "Hey, who's that?"

The figure turned to the group and pointed an accusing finger "I don't recognize any of you! Who are you and what are you doing in this room!?"

Wave narrowed his eyes "Hey now, we were called here for a special as-." he didn't get any further because the figure, faster then Wave could dodge hit him in the chest with a powerful kick. The blow sent Wave through the table and everyone except Kurome and Kaneki flashed into a battle stance "Your opponents are going to be assassins, leave your guard down for an instant and you'll be dead." the figure lectured.

The figure launched forward to the next closest person, who happened to be Ran. It shot out with a series of kicks but Ran simply put one hand out and swiped the kicks away from him. Ran muttered something like whoops but throughout all of the attacks he remained unharmed. Kaneki's attention was perked, Ran was pretty good. Ran jumped back away from the figure and Kurome decided she had had enough of this little party. With a sucker still in her mouth she unsheathed her blade and slashed at the figure. It managed to dodge the deadly edge of her katana but its mask was cut and began to fall off. Kaneki got up from his chair "So that's the Imperial Arm Yatsuhusa, it has a splendid cutting edge." the figure said. With the mask gone it was clear that the voice was feminine.

As the rest of the mask fell down it was revealed who was attacking them. Bois gasped before stuttering "G-General Esdeath!?"

"Damn that hurt." Wave said sitting back up. He looked confused for a second before seeing Esdeath '_Oh crap even the boss is a weird one_'

**A few hours later **

After Esdeath's little 'Game' the members of the special forces unit were led to their individual rooms in the castle. Kaneki was simply lead to a changing room since he still had a house to go back to. When everyone had had a chance to take a shower and get settled in their rooms a servant gave each member a Tuxedo or specialized dress for them to wear. Kaneki looked over the suit when he got it. It was perfectly fitted to his size, Kaneki didn't know when Esdeath had gotten his measurements but he put it out of his mind. The first thing he did was search for any means of tracking on the suit. Weather it would be sent, mechanical or organic he had to make sure that the suit was clean before he put it on. Once it was on Kaneki looked himself in the mirror. He turned, looking himself over, the only thing strange about the suit was the single white stripe on his shoulder. The last time he had worn a suit Shuu had tried to kill him and feed him to a group of aristocratic Ghouls. Now Kaneki only hoped that the next half hour didn't end up with him either drugged beaten or poisoned.

Kaneki exited the training room and met up with the rest of the group in the castle yard. Everyone else like him was wearing their suits. Kaneki nodded to Bois, Wave and Ran before standing at attention. Esdeath walked up from behind the group, she too was wearing a black suit but her's came with an extra stripe on the side of her shoulder. She lead the group down the halls of the castle courtyard "So were you surprised by my little game? I say it's a lot better then a droll welcoming reception."

Wave put a hand on the back of his head "Well don't worry about me, I'm used to being roughed up."

Esdeath chuckled "Okay then, we'll have a party after our meeting with the emperor."

Wave paled for the second time that day "Wait we're already meeting the emperor? Isn't that a little fast for a first day?"

Kaneki shrugged "Normally yes but if we get the complimentary stuff out of the way we can get to our main objective as fast as possible."

Esdeath nodded "Correct Captain." the way Esdeath said captain made Kaneki rolled his eyes. It was like she was screaming at him '_After all this time, I won_' Jump in a hole a burn you sadistic bitch.

"Before we get to that, General doesn't our little group lack a name?" Doctor Stylish asked.

Kaneki forced himself to chuckle for effect "Don't worry Doctor, the issue on a name has already been taken care of."

Esdeath smiled once more "Again you are correct Captain. We are a unique force within the military. We are organized and tasked to mercilessly hunt down and eliminate atrocious groups and enemies of the empire. Therefore, we will be the special force. We will be the Jaegers!" Esdeath declared.

**Authors Note:**

**...Wow not even one update and I'm behind on my promised schedule. I suck. (Sorry I couldn't keep my promise. I finally was able to get a job to go through and it's been snapping at my time like you wouldn't believe. So again, Sorry I'm late.)**

**And yes this is just a set up chapter to establish characters. It might be boring but these kind of chapters need to be done.**

**Also I need to say this. Thank you, all of you guys out there. Over 200 favorites, over a hundred reviews and by the time I'm writing this nearly 250 follows. I have nothing to thank you guys with other than continuing this story with more muse than ever. So please continue reading the Ghoul of Night Raid. **

**Now all that needs to happen is this fic gets a trop page and I can die a happy man. **

**So if you found this, Thanks for reading =]**


	8. With Information comes Power

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill**

"And with that Captain, this is checkmate." Ran said moving his white rook to corner Kaneki's king.

Kaneki chuckled "And here I was thinking that I was going to beat everyone here. Good work Ran,."

Ran smiled and started picking up the chess pieces "Well then, by your own deal you have to report to the kitchen Captain."

"I can have you executed for ordering around a superior officer." Kaneki jokingly threatened as he got up from his seat.

Ran and Kaneki were seated in the meeting room the Jaegers first met in. It had been three days since the group had been formed and all of them were anxious to start doing something productive. The first thing that Kaneki ordered as their commanding officer was a demonstration of their imperial arms. The only one who abjected to the order was Esdeath. She gave Kaneki a questioning look when he had ordered them all in the training yard but Kaneki prepared a reasonable excuse "If I'm going to lead them in training I need to know how they fight. If I know how they fight, I can plan teams, missions and raids far more effectively."

It was a good excuse on paper and Esdeath eventually allowed Kaneki's order to go through to the rest of the squad. That was the first thing that Kaneki had learned about his position. He might outrank everyone in the Jaegers other than Esdeath in the military but every order he gave to any soldier had to be verified by Esdeath or the Prime minister. It limited the options that Kaneki had but he still had more then enough freedoms to continue his work with Night Raid. He was allowed an hour each night to walk around town, get things from his home and come back. According to the Prime minister this hour was free of any observation of any kind. Kaneki trusted the Prime Minister just about as fast as he could kill him, not throw him, Kaneki was sure he could put the man into the lower atmosphere if he was pissed enough. So, doubtlessly his every move was to be watched by either a spy or the Jaegers themselves. Kaneki couldn't keep track of all of them at once and he was sure that at least one of them would be willing to keep an eye on him.

So for the rest of the day the Jaegers displayed their individual Imperial Arms and Kaneki wouldn't lie to himself, he was a afraid. At first this was just a way to figure out all of the Jaegers strengths and weaknesses and then deliver them to Night Raid on his hour off. What he got however was just a sense of foreboding. The first to display and surprise him was Wave. He volunteered to go first, he said something about wanting to make a good impression but Kaneki ignored him. But Kaneki's attention was glued to Wave when he screamed the name of his Imperial Arm "GRAND CHARIOT!" he screamed as he plunged his blade into the ground.

From behind the man of the sea black chains surrounded him and from the ground behind him something came out. It was a black, metallic looking beast with blue lines armoring it. The entire ground erupted in a flash of light and everyone had to shield their eyes against the light. When it faded Wave stood in the clearing but he was a different man entirely. The man that stood in the center square radiated an aura of power, confidence and, for lack of a better word, justice. Wave's form was surrounded by a black armor that Kaneki recognized. It was similar to Incursio in how it surrounded the wearer but Wave's Imperial Arm had some clear differences. Around the back of his head was a ring of black and blue armor and Kaneki got the distinct impression that this was Incursio's counter. The two obviously had a similar function, to protect the user and give them a burst in power but Grand Chariot looked sleeker, faster, more battle oriented.

Wave looked at the Jaegers and folded his arms "So, what do you think?" he said, amusement clear in his voice.

Ran and Bois clapped at the transformation while Kaneki and Esdeath did nothing to reveal that they were impressed in any way. Kurome hadn't even looked up from the lollipop she was eating, Style on the other hand looked like he was about to orgasm "Oh my dear beautiful boy! Why did you not warn me that your armor was so stylish, so beautiful! Oh, I want to get my hands on you even more!"

Wave took a step back "Doc, you and I need to discuss a few things when we're done here."

The good doctor blushed and winked at Wave "I look forward to it." he said, his entire voice layered with lusty tones.

Wave took another step back and Kaneki noticed that Ran and Bois copied the action. Kaneki shook his head and tried to get back to the reason that they were here in the first place "So Wave, I assume that your armor works similar to the armor of Incursio?"

Wave turned to Kaneki "Yes Captain!" he said proudly "But don't be mistaken, my armor is superior to Incursio. Yes it's not as defense oriented as Incursio but mine has superior attack power and I can do this."

The ring of black metal behind Wave's head glowed and hummed before his form slowly started to fly. In a second he was hovering over the group of hunters like a black angel of death. Kaneki forced a smile on his face "So then Wave, mind showing us what you can do?"

"Hai!"

After about five minutes the entire courtyard was filled with soldiers from the empire. All of them had their weapons pointed at Wave who stood in the center of the mass looking over his opponents. Kaneki looked to make sure everything was in position before glancing at Esdeath. She nodded her approval and Kaneki pulled out a stopwatch "Wave, there are fifty men around you. Your first mission as a Jaeger is this: Defeat all of them, without killing anyone in thirty seconds. Anything other than killing is permitted, do you understand?"

Wave relaxed his arms before putting out one of his hands. A flash of black power later, a blue spear with a large head that was hollow in the center appeared in his hand. He spun the weapon with expert motions before taking a stance "I understand completly Captain."

"Well then, Begin!" Kaneki said pressing the stopwatch.

The battle began as all fifty highly trained soldiers rushed at Wave. Well, it shouldn't be called a battle, a one-sided massacre would be more appropriate. As soon as a soldier came within striking distance Wave struck so fast that even Kaneki had a hard time tracking his movements. The sights that he saw made his reevaluate his opinion of Wave. Each strike had a purpose, each one took out an enemy. Kaneki could see and hear bones breaking and shattering with each successful attack, which were all of them. When Wave finished curb stomping the competition and Kaneki clicked the stopwatch the newly appointed Jaeger was looking pleased with himself. He stepped out of the pile of bodies that he had made and his armor came off him like a snake shedding its skin "So Captain, how was that?" he asked.

Kaneki looked at the stop watch "Twenty-Eight point three one seconds. Good work."

Wave lowered his head in a deep bow before stepping in line with the rest of the Jaegers. Kaneki quickly jotted everything he saw in a mental note while Esdeath looked at her team "So, who's next?"

Ran raised his hand "I'm not one for showing off so I'm sorry to say that it won't be anything over the top."

Kaneki waved a hand and gestured to the courtyard that was still filled with bodies. Wave looked at the courtyard and rubbed his head sheepishly "Sorry for the mess."

"Don't worry Wave, I have to intention on staying on the ground anyway." Ran said walking forward.

Before anyone could ask what he meant light started to gather around Ran's back. The light came together and when it was finished Ran stood in front of the Jaegers with perfect angel wings that shun with the brilliance of wings you would expect on God's protectors. Ran smiled like a teacher to his students before stepping back into the air. When he was about fifty feet in the air he started to do lazy circles in the air as he enjoyed the feeling of flight. Everyone looked on Ran with amazement as he flew. He then shot out the feathers out of his wings with deadly accuracy, hitting the edges of the Jaegers feet the action making Bois and Wave jump back. Ran slowly descended and as he got close to the ground they faded like the light that brought them "The human bird shall take his first flight, filling the world with amazement, all writings with his fame, and bringing eternal glory to the nest whence he sprang." Kaneki quoted and glanced at everyone's puzzled expressions "Quote from an old philosopher, it seemed appropriate at this moment."

Ran bowed his head "I appreciate the thought Captain, it was, oddly fitting." he said while his gaze shifted to one of longing and wistfulness.

Kaneki raised an eyebrow "You hold your home close to you?"

"Of course, they place where we make our first steps, the place where we learn our first lessons becomes one of the greatest places in the world. I'm sure you feel the same way."

Kaneki chuckled "I do, but unlike you Ran I don't have a home left to return to."

The uncomfortable silence that followed was defining, unless your were either Esdeath or Kurome, both of whom looked like that they couldn't care less. After some uncomfortable shifting Bois stepped up, his Imperial Arm sticking out like a sore thumb on his back. It looked to be an over sized water container with a tube connecting to a gun that was shaped like the head of a lizard with a nozzle at the end. Expertly he took the strange nozzle connecting the two parts of the Arm and aimed at the clearing "If you men don't move you will die." Bois said bluntly.

Needless to say those that could get out of the way did as fast as their broken bodies would allow. Some of them (That being most of them) couldn't move because of their injuries and watched in horror as they awaited fate. Kaneki felt someone tap him on the shoulder, after a quick glance behind him he found Wave. Wave cleared his throat "Captain, shouldn't we wait till the men have gotten out of the way before Bois started?"

Kaneki nodded but he heard Esdeath chuckle "Wave, when you were in the navy what happened to those that couldn't go on?"

Wave's sweat dropped as realization hit him "They were left behind?"

"Are you asking or telling?" Esdeath asked.

"T-Telling you General!" Wave answered with a slight stutter.

"Yes correct, in this army just like in nature the weak die and the strong survie. Bois."

Bois turned "Yes General?"

"You wait for thirty seconds, after that time is up you demonstrate on those that remain." Esdeath said with a cold smile.

Ran winced but he held his tongue. Kurome looked like she couldn't be bothered while Stylish looked like he just wanted to be impressed. Kaneki clenched his fist in frustration "MEN! Those of you who don't leave the area in twenty seconds will die!"

The downed men's expressions went from pain to pure terror. They slowly started to crawl their way towards anywhere that wasn't going to become dust after Bois fired that gun of his. Kaneki cursed under his breath, they weren't moving fast enough and they only had five seconds left.

Four

Desperation moved all of them forward.

Three

Pain wasn't a problem, a cursing agony of not being able to get up and run hurt more then the broken bones.

Two

Some moved faster, other just gave up and looked to Bois for the end.

One

**Zero**

The time limited ended, and the world was replaced by fire. Bois had aimed and fired his Imperial Arm, it wasn't a gun, it was a flame thrower. A jet stream of white hot flames rolled over the downed men and within a second everyone that couldn't get away was screaming as the flames burnt them alive. In desperation they rolled in vain to put out the flames. The Jaegers watched in awe and disgust as the screams died out one by one as the flames turned the weak soldiers to ash. When everything was said and done Bois sheathed his Arm and faced the group "This is the Rubicante, its flames cannot be put out until those that they burn are nothing but ash on the ground."

Like the others before him, the Jaegers clapped for his display. Well, everyone except for Kaneki and Wave. Bois bowed his head in thanks before taking a place next to Wave. Wave shifted and Bois sighed "If it's any consolation, I don't like doing this either. I am a soldier, and those were my orders. I will follow them till my last breath, but my personal opinions don't matter until the orders are completed."

"Well said." Ran said with a nod. Kaneki took a chance and he glanced at Esdeath. The ice general was looking over the scene with her trademark grin that one would associate with a predator. Kaneki looked at Kurome, intending for her to go next but she looked at Esdeath and she shook her head no. Kurome resumed eating her candy after that and before anyone could comment further Dr. Stylish stepped forward. He snapped his fingers so that he was the center of attention before making a big show of bowing to Kaneki and Esdeath. "Captain, General, first I must thank you. Because of your brilliance Captain you have allowed me to show you my style!" he exclaimed with a wink in Kaneki's direction.

Kaneki forced his expression to remain neutral. If it was four years ago he probably would be nervously sweating and wondering what the hell Stylish was talking about. But now, after the change, this was just slightly annoying instead of embarrassing. Kaneki made a show of rolling his eye and Stylish got the message. With a flourish show he moved his hands and fingers in the air, the connections of his fingers played out like shadow puppets making crewd animals and people "This is the beautiful hands of god, Perfector. Using it, the speed as well as the precision of my fingers are increased hundreds of times. I haven't discovered its full potential and it's already the most stylish of Imperial Arms!" he declared.

"Short of death, no matter what sort of wound you receive I'll be able to fix you up back to one-hundred percent. I might even throw a few weapons into your body while I'm at it."

Wave whistled "Anything short of death you say?" Kaneki said " That is a useful ability indeed."

And a very annoying one Kaneki thought. So now he had to make sure any of the Jaegers had to be confirmed dead to take them out completely if what Stylish said was correct. Ran and Bois raised their hands "Doctor. We would ask that you not insert any weapons into us please."

Bois nodded his head in agreement.

"Anyway, I'm happy that we have someone to patch us up but if all you have is a support Imperial Arm then we'll be forced to protect you doctor." Wave interjected.

Stylish put both of his hands to his head in a very feminine expression "Oh Its so cute to see that I have someone so cute worrying about me."

Wave immediately took a step back "But my dear Wave, I have made the perfect stylish protection for myself. PLEASE REVEAL YOURSELVES MY ENHANCED TROOPS!" he ordered.

What happened next was so fast that Kaneki had trouble following it. As soon as Stylish finished his order all around him figures sprung out of the shadows like cockroaches. They were men and woman and children, all of them with blank masks covering their faces. All of them looked to be stitched together from spare parts and Kaneki didn't put it past the doctor to do that.

The figures formed ranks around their master and stood silently as they awaited orders. The good doctor smiled at his creations "These fellows are my private army that I have created using my Imperial Arm. Because you see, our team is like a team of chess. The beautiful Esdeath-Sama is our great Queen, going any lengths to destroy the opponent. Our handsome Captain Kaneki, our kind King, handing out orders and taking to the front lines if the battle requires. Wave and Bois, our Rooks, going in head long into the battle with no concern for themselves and getting the job done. Finally the cute little Kurome our dark knight, using her blade to cut through any defenses that might come our way. My army and by extension myself out the pawns, soldiers to be used as distraction and finishing the job when using one of our better pieces need not be bothered."

Esdeath nodded "Thank you for the presentation everyone. So Captain, was that sufficient?"

So with that out of the way Kaneki now found himself going to the castle kitchen to help make dinner. That was the deal that he had proposed to the Jaegers. The deal was simple, play Kaneki in a game of chess and if you lose, you go into the kitchen and make dinner. The idea was simple, use chess to figure out a base estimate of how cunning on their own each of the Jaegers were. Kaneki wasn't a major league chess player but he was confident that he could beat at least some of the Jaegers and the one that beat him he had to keep an eye out for. Wave volunteered to go first, the match was done in five minutes. Wave was a good man but his skills for long term strategy were. Well, how to put it, Nonexistent? His method was to attack and keep up the pressure so that his opponent couldn't counter attack, so he was completely blindsided by a Caro-Kann movement. Since he was the first to loose he was the first to cook, he said something about a fish dish from the food that he brought. Bois was next and it was clear that he was a complete novice at chess. For the first half of the match he just moved his pieces in a way that Kaneki's couldn't get an easy opening. He actually forced Kaneki to go on the offensive to get around his defenses, but his defences fell soon after Kaneki was able to exploit an opening. When the game was done, Bois almost looked gleeful that he was forced to cook for everyone. He almost sprinted into the kitchen and immediately the sounds of production began once more.

The next game took a lot longer then the two previous games had. From the first move Kaneki knew that he didn't even have a ghost of a chance against Ran. The winged Warrior/Teacher lived up to both of his titles as he moved his pieces in movements and strategies that Kaneki didn't even knew existed. Kaneki had tried his best but Ran was just too good and in the end it was a fruitless effort. So now Kaneki found himself in the doorway to the kitchen looking in, the sight that greeted him was almost comical. Wave and Bois both had cooking aprons on and of the two of them Bois looked almost natural in the garment. It had a drawing of a bear that wouldn't look out of place in a kids coloring book with the word 'Kumason' handwritten under the bear. In front of Bois was a fish that was being expertly carved by the fire user. Wave looked out of place in his apron, he looked down at the bowl of soup in front of him with something akin to depression. He lazily went through the motions of stirring and adding ingredients. He picked up a handful of spinach and was about to add it in before Bois stopped him "Oh Wave, the spinach needs to go in last. Its a bit too early or it to go in just yet."

"Huh?" Wave said looking down at the plant in his hand "Oh sorry Bois-San, I was just distracted by my thoughts."

Bois waved the apology away and his head perked up when he noticed Kaneki "Hello Captain-san, did you come to check up on us?"

Kaneki shook his head "Ran soundly defeated me in our game so as per our agreement here I am to help."

"Well as much as we would love you to help we're almost done anyway." Bois took out a spoon and scooped a bit of the fish broth "Would you like to try some?" he asked offering the spoon.

Kaneki felt his stomach churn as he forced his expression to remain neutral "Don't mind if I do." he said taking the spoon.

He steeled himself and drank the liquid. It took all of his self control and prior training in eating like a normal human to not make himself puke the entire contents of his stomach out before him. It tasted like shit, not as in excrement from an animal. It tasted like a decayed maggot that sat in the sun for years and inside only the juices of death and decay remained from its body. It made his whole body crawl every second as the liquid dragged itself down his throat. He bit his lip so hard that he could taste the blood, it took the edge off but the feeling of disgust going through him. He nodded and forced a looked of impressment on his face "Needs a little more spice but otherwise it is a great meal Bois."

Bois bowed "Don't give me all of the credit, Wave did just as much work if not more than me in preparing the dish."

Kaneki gave a nod "Well, we're going to be eating in the main dining room. Have one of the servants deliver the meal and seat yourselves. If you excuse me I must use the rest -room before we dine."

Both Wave and Bois bowed and Kaneki left the room. As soon as he was sure he was out of sight he nearly sprinted to the rest-room. He all but knocked the door down getting into the room and he headed straight for the toilet. He dropped to his knees and allowed his body to act the way it wanted. He unloaded every single disgusting thing that he had eaten or drank. He panted for a few seconds before he forced his hand down his throat for his gag reflex to make sure everything was out of his stomach. He now regretted taking a sip of the tea yesterday. He did it to act normal and cement the idea that he was normal in front of everyone but his body clearly disagreed. He felt like shit, his entire body felt like it was liquid tar with how sluggishly he moved. He wiped all of the droll and remains that had found its way onto his chin before washing himself at the sink. After making sure that he was presentable again he exited the rest-room and went to the dining hall.

As soon as he opened the door it was clear that everyone had started without him. At the table everyone was sitting either talking between themselves or enjoying the meal. Esdeath was seated at the head of the table swirling a glass of wine in between her hand. She was the first to notice Kaneki's arrival, she gestured at the seat across from her where an empty seat and a steaming bowl of soup awaited him along with a glass of water. He wordlessly went over to the chair and sat down. He took the glass of water and drank it all in one go to get the remaining taste out of his mouth.

The room was quiet as everyone allowed themselves to unwind and eat. Kaneki did his best to make it look like he was disconcerting in the food before him, it actually wasn't that hard. He didn't want to have another rest-room episode but there was something else. Kaneki felt a shiver go down his spine, like he was being watched by someone far away. Before anyone could ask why he wasn't eating Ran spoke up "So General, Since we haven't been told of our current assignments what have you been doing with your spare time?"

Esdeath looked up thoughtfully before setting her wine down "Mostly hunting and torture, when I'm not doing either of those things I've been either reading or studying. But at the moment." Esdeath stopped herself and she got a cold seductive smile on her features.

For some reason Kaneki felt a chill crawl along his spine. Did a breeze just pass into the room? He ignored the feeling of uneaz "For the moment what?" he asked.

"Well," Esdeath said a slight hint of red gracing her cheeks " I was thinking that I might try my hand at being in love."

The statement caught everyone off guard. Everyone had different expressions on their faces. Wave looked startled but he shook his head and his expression returned to one neutral apathy but it didn't last and surprise came back. Bois, Ran and Dr. Stylish had questioning expressions but it wasn't something out of the ordinary for them. Kurome looked at Esdeath with genuine surprise and it was the first time that Kaneki had seen her have a different expression from her cold neutral. Kaneki only allowed himself to raise and eyebrow "Love? Mind if I ask how this change occurred?" Kaneki asked.

Esdeath smirked "I don't have to answer that question, but if you must know I'm curious."

"About what?" Ran asked.

"I have heard stories of what people have done in the name of love. Love changes people, I was wondering what it might do to me." Esdeath admitted.

Kaneki nodded and took another drink of water. Esdeath looked around the room "So, have any of you felt the feeling of love?"

Wave shook his head and Stylish looked bored at the question. Ran shifted his gaze away so that Esdeath couldn't see his eyes but Bois lit up like a Christmas Tree "Oh yes general I have. I don't want to say too much, everyone's experience with love is different but I don't know that you're in for the greatest feeling that you've ever experienced."

Kaneki felt his eyes narrow as he looked at Bois "Have something to add Captain?" Ran asked "Have you too felt what love is like?"

Kaneki sighed and looked around him. Somehow he had become the center of attention, even Kurome was looking at him expectantly.

"Over the course of my short life I have meet two woman that I admit that I had feelings for." Kaneki started "The first was a someone that I didn't know too well but our interest were aligned and I found myself captivated by her beauty."

Bois nodded "She must've been wonderful."

"Not really. After our first date she tried to kill me and nearly succeeded if it wasn't for an for an accident that killed her before she could finish the job." Kaneki deadpanned.

Bois's face fell and Wave gulped but Kaneki continued regardless "The second was the one that saved me from the first. She was cold, distant and by far the most beautiful woman that I have ever met. She taught me how to fight, to survive and in return I taught her what it means to be human. We became great friends, but we had a falling out and I haven't seen her in years." Kaneki's gaze became distant "To this day I don't know what happened to her."

Silence filled the room as everyone looked at Kaneki in a new light. Esdeath broke the silence with a clap "Anyway I would like to thank Wave and Bois for preparing this meal for us."

Both men in question bowed in thanks before Esdeath continued "Second I would like to ask, Captain, are there anything that needs to be taken care of on the team?"

"Yes actually. The good doctor used a metaphor that I found appropriate. As he said all of us are pieces on a board but we are without a Bishop. I think that our team would need an adaptable asset, someone who can go into any situation and adapt to any and all counter offensives if they come up. A close-to-mid ranged fighter would be desirable. So, I propose that we hold a little tournament to find the person in question. Plus this person just might be the one you're looking for General, two birds one stone." Kaneki said.

Kaneki had made the idea on the spot, Night Raid will doubtless use this as a chance to show off. If one of them managed to get on the Jaegers, everything from here on out will go much, much smoother.

Esdeath looked to be thinking the idea over before smiling "It sounds like a good idea, but I do have requirements."

She took a rolled up scroll and tossed it to Kaneki who caught it effortlessly "You even have a list." Kaneki said half surprised "Ok, first off.

Number 1: Above all, must possess a deep well of untapped ability. I wish to mold him into someone of General class abilities.

Number 2: Must be fearless; A person who can hunt the most dangerous species of the world with me.

Number 3: Cannot have been raised near the capitol. Just like me, must have been raised on the outskirts of the empire.

Number 4: Will be under my direct control so must be younger me

Number 5: One who has a pure and innocent smiling face would be nice."

Kaneki looked at Esdeath and back at the list "Rule number one takes out half of the men in the world right now." he deadpanned.

Esdeath chuckled "True but there still remains the possibility." She stands up "You are all excused for the evening, I have to send the orders out for our little game."

Everyone bows and goes their separate ways. Kaneki gets up and quickly goes to the exit of the castle, he had an hour to spend and a message to deliver. As Dr. Stylish leaves he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Esdeath "Is it going well?"

Stylish smiled "Oh its going better then ever, in fact I should be finished by tonight if I'm allowed the night to myself."

"On the contrary, I want to watch for myself." Esdeath said.

**In front of Anteiku**

Tatsumi looked at the sign that read 'Closed by order of the Emperor' and felt a tick mark appear above his head. He knew he was late for his night shift but he didn't know that he came all the way from the base to the cafe with nothing to show for it but a closed sign. He heard footsteps behind him and he turned to see the man who was the source of his anger "Ok what did you get caught for to make your store get closed huh?"

Kaneki rolled his visible eye "I didn't do anything, I got contracted into being in Esdeath's personal guard." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small note book "These are the names and abilities of the team, named the Jaegers. Plan accordingly."

Tatsumi eyed the book before taking it and skimming through the pages. To his horror, they were extremely detailed. The rest of what Kaneki had send finally registered in the young warrior "Wait you just said that you're in Esdeath guard?"

"I'm the Captain actually." Kaneki deadpanned. Before Tatsumi could ask more Kaneki waved him off "Look I don't have much more time so I'll keep this short. In a few days Esdeath will hold a tournament to see if she can find someone to fill in a missing link I convinced her was there. Tell Najenda and I'm sure she'll see the opportunity."

Tatsumi nodded but then frowned "Why don't you just tell me now and just have me deliver the message?"

Kaneki looked at him with an expression that read 'Seriously?'. Tatsumi looked rather annoyed at the responds that Kaneki gave him. Kaneki sighed again, he was beginning to do that a lot lately he noticed "Besides the fact that I can't be seen with you without you either at my feet dead or for just a few seconds. I trust Sheele to keep her mouth shut more than you."

"HEY!"

"Its the truth." Kaneki admitted. He scanned the shadows for anything "Get those notes to Najenda, now." Kaneki ordered.

Tatsumi grumbled something that Kaneki couldn't hear clearly but he nodded and started walking back to the base. Kaneki watched him walk away, making sure that nothing from the forest or the town started following Tatsumi. Nothing moved to follow him, maybe the Prime Minister was telling the truth. The thought made Kaneki snort as he opened up Anteiku and went inside.

Inside it was just as he left the place, not a chair moved or a glass disturbed. Kaneki barely glanced over the objects though, he went straight to his upstairs room. When he was there he closed all windows and doors leading into the room just to be safe. Once that was done he went over to the fake wall and opened the compartment. His black battle suit and Ghoul mask greeted him. Kaneki looked over the suit and found himself lost in thought. What to do now but wait?

**Research Lab -1 ( One mile Underneath the Capitol Castle)**

Research Lab negative one, there's not much to say about it. No one but a few that can go outside even know of its existence, and those that can enter and leave freely are both Generals, the Prime Minister, The young Emperor and the newest addition to that little group Dr. Stylish of the Jaegers. To get in you need to know where secret entrance is from the Emperor's study. You need to have identification and you need to be inspected by one of the three hundred elite guards stationed at the entrance and exits twenty four seven.

If you do somehow rank in that small group or you're just generally curious you have to make it through the aforementioned guards, more traps than Esdeath's own torture chambers and even then you have a mile and a half's worth of walking to get done with so you won't be getting out anytime soon if at all. Once you do get down the stairs you will find a modest science lab filled to the brim with workers and scientists that cannot eat, sleep without producing results. They also cannot leave, ever because of what they were working on.

The room might be modest but that was only in terms of equipment. The devices they were using were dated yes but the scientist preferred them over the newer models because it was easier to operate and therefore, easier to produce results faster. The room itself rivaled even the grand ballroom of the castle above and every available wall was filled with research tables and charts all of them filled with either notes or "Samples".

In the center of the room stood the head of research, Dr. Stylish as he looked at the centerpiece of the lab. He heard steps coming from the entrance over the commotion of the lab and found Esdeath standing behind him "My dear General, someone as perfect as you needn't have bothered coming down to a dirty place like this."

"Is said I wanted to see how things were coming along." Esdeath said. She crossed her arms as she looked over the centerpiece "Is it awake yet?"

"Unfortunately not no." Stylish responded, his tone ripe with disappointment "I apologize I thought I was close to a breakthrough but it appears I was wrong."

Esdeath sighed "Well that is disappointing."

Stylish nodded, he picked up a clipboard and looked through the notes "We did however have a development."

Esdeath raised an eyebrow "Oh?" she said waiting for the doctor to continue.

"Yes its astonishing really. For the longest time the subject has been dormant except on a few occasions that we've recorded the average stirring one does in sleep but this afternoon it started to move as if it knew where it was and wanted to get out."

"What time was this?" Esdeath asked uncrossed her arms and approached the center piece.

"Roughly seven PM to Seven thirty PM. Did you know that this lab is directly over the Jaeger's dining area?"

"No, but I fail to see how that makes a difference."

Stylish got a cold smile that gave Esdeath's own grin a run for its money "It makes a difference because those were precisely the times that our dear Captain Kaneki entered and left the dining hall."

Esdeath didn't even try to stop her own smirk from appearing on her face "Oh, that certainly is interesting." she said looking into the center piece.

The center piece in question was a huge see tank. It was big enough to fit even General Budo's bulk and it was bolted in the ground by a series of bolts used for building bridges. A collection of tubes fed a strange liquid into the tank and other tubes that connected with the bottom of the tank fed the instruments scattered around the room information. The only piece of identification on the tank was three words printed in large blood red letters.

Those three words were: Subject Fallen Angel

**Authors Note**:

**I really hate life right now, it gets in the way of so many things, LIKE FUCKING WRITING!**

**If it wasn't obvious enough I'm a bit pissed that I couldn't get this to you guys sooner, so sorry.**

**BTW, points to anyone who can tell who the bird quote is from.**

**Also, take a guess who's in the tank. (Insert evil laugh here)**

**Yes I know that Kaneki can't drink tea, the reason he did is in this chapter. Thank you for everyone that corrected me. And it has also been brought to my attention that Kaneki is acting a little too OOC and I admit to that. He's been living in the empire for three years trying to forget his failures of course he's going to be different. Sorry to those I pissed off by not making the character perfect to what the anime has him as. I admit that I'm a novice writer so I'm doing my best, I apologize to anyone who was either offended or disappointed by my characterization.**

**So for story notes I should probably say that this story will be diverging from Cannon in about two chapters if I can keep the writing going.**

**Speaking of killing Cannon, I would like to know which characters you guys would want to live and or who you want to die.(Spoilers Esdeath is off the table for those of you who want her dead, she's need for the next half of the story.) I'm asking this because some characters I hated that they had to die, namely Sheele and Bois (Both of them were my favorite characters). So I ask who do you want me to kill or keep off the chopping block? If you send nothing everyone might just fall over dead. (Jk that's just evil)**

**So if you found this, Thanks for Reading =].**


	9. Update: The first and Hopefuly the Last

**Well I guess the first thing I should do is get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness. A month, a freaking month! UNACCEPTABLE! **

**Sorry to say but this isn't a update chapter, just a heads up chapter. The next chapter is completed and I was going to post it a few days ago but then I looked at the favorites and followers and I realized, I need to do better. Looking back over my last chapters I hurts to see how bad my spelling and grammar was. So now I decided to change that, currently I am working on trying to find a beta reader for my chapters so I can deliver a much better quality story. **

**Yep, that's why its taking so long, I haven't found anyone willing to beta read this story yet. I sent a few PM's asking but so far no one has replied back. If any of you guys have a beta reader you would recommend send me a review or PM telling me and I will send it to them so I can send it to you as quickly as possible. **

**Since this is going to be my Authors note for the next chapter I'm just going to cover what would've said in that chapter. It was something along the lines of HOLY CRAP WHEN DID THIS STORY GET OVER 300 FOLLOWERS!? That's one of them the other is that I talk a little about Kaneki's Imperial Arm (That's making an appearance finally) **

**And **** A few people have been wondering if I was going to do Tatsumi paired with Akame or Mine. Personally I like both of them, the manga's TatsumiXMine was really cute to me but I can see the Akame pairing. Send me a review or a PM if you want it to be something different but if nothing is said I'm going to do TatsumiXMIne. **

**And you guys have been way more vocal on who I shouldn't kill off (And who I should make a really painful death for). So far the winners are starting to be Wave, Chelsea, and Bois, so congrats Akame ga Kill fans! Those Characters will be off the chopping block! And those that are on the chopping block...Holy shit you people really want Stylish to die painfully. I admit he's a messed up guy but that's no reason to go hating the st-Oh who am I kidding I really freaking hate that guy.**

**The only thing that I can't decide on is how he is going to die. I don't have a planned moment for him to die for some time so apologise. I have three options planned however: **

**1: Irony, I don't know I'm sure something will come up**

**2: Kaneki gets hungry/ We learn to count down from 1000 by 7 **

**3: The most morbid thing my otaku mind can think up including a combination of the above two (This one is going to be popular I can already tell) **

**Well, that's all I have to say for now, sorry for the wait and if I don't get a beta within the next week the chapter is going up regaurdless. **

**So if you found this, Sorry I'm making you wait.**


	10. Blood will be my Weapon

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill**

Mine let her face curl into a pout as she looked at what was in front of her. It wasn't disappointing news, far from it, for it was possibly the biggest tip anyone could ever give them. It was detailed, precise and had all the essential information that Night Raid would need to take out the Jaegers. Mine's only peeve with the book before her was that it came from Ken Kaneki.

"Just read it." Tatsumi begged.

"No." Mine said stubbornly.

Leone let out an exasperated sigh, "Mine, it's an information report and a good one at that. We've all read it and only you and Akame haven't read it yet."

"Then why aren't you getting on Akame's back about this?!" She demanded.

"Because she's going through a report from the Revolutionary Army about Boss's trip." Lubbock said with a tone that clearly wanted to get in on this little spat.

Mine pouted again and Sheele placed a hand on her shoulder, "Do you want me to read it to you? Will that be ok?"

Mine's face got red with anger "Sheele, I'm not a child!"

"You look and act like one." Tatsumi muttered.

Mine aimed Pumpkin right at Tatsumi's head and charged the energy in the Imperial Arm, "What was that!?"

"NOTHING!" Tatsumi screamed, throwing his hands up in surrender. Mine, satisfied that she had proven her point, lowered the Imperial Arm.

Leone hugged herself and doubled over laughing and after a while everyone else joined her. They were all situated around the meeting table where they would normally hold dinner, but now it was used to go over the plans. Usually the main hall was used, but it felt weird not having the boss sit on her chair while they were given out. So Akame had opted to use the now meeting/dinner table as their new planning ground while the boss was away. Currently, it was late at night. Tatsumi had just gotten back from his talk with Kaneki and in the small space of time that they had, the members of Night Raid took turns skimming through the book he had been given. Sheele was reading in the entrance hall when Tatsumi came in, so she was the first to read after him. After she had gone through the book, Sheele gathered everyone in the base to the meeting table so they could get in on the information. Lubbock had told Akame about the development, but she said she was going to read it after she had gone through the other reports. After Leone had finished reading through it, Mine bursted through the door demanding to know what was going on and why they interrupted her sleep, Which had led them to their current predicament. As soon as she realized that the book come from Kaneki, she was stubbornly adamant about not reading another page.

Leone slapped a hand down on the table "Come on, Mine! Just one time and we'll burn it afterwards. You gotta admit, Sheele's future boyfriend outdid himself on this one."

At the boyfriend comment, Sheele blushed and tried to hide herself behind her glasses. "L-Leone, it's not the appropriate time to talk about that..."

"OH! You're blushing! That's just screaming that you wouldn't mind having Kaneki as a Boyfriend." Leone said lustfully. "There will be bonuses, you know? Other than the normal stuff."

Sheele blinks in confusion while Lubbock and Tatsumi look away to hide their own embarrassment. Sheele, ever the airhead in some moments then asked, "What bonuses?"

Tatsumi coughed into his fist while Lubbock whistled absentmindedly. Leone smiled like she had been given a god-sent gift. "Oh, well firstly, someone who you can have nice long reading sessions with.", Leone started, "Second, you get first dibs on reading his next book, and plus your input will get him out of his writer's block. Also, you could help him with...well, you know."

Tatsumi waved his hands back and forth. "Can we please change the subject back to the information and not relationship innuendos!?"

Mine hummed. "What's wrong Ta-Tsu-mi?", she asked, mimicking a mother talking to a child, "Is talking about grown up conversations a little unnerving to your young mind?"

"HEY!", Tatsumi roared back, "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO LOOKS LIKE SHE JUST TURNED TEN, YOU FLAT CHESTED DEVIL!"

Leone's jaw dropped and Lubbock looked at Tatsumi in horror. Sheele took a step back when she noticed what was happening with Mine. Her left eye was twitching and her face went crimson. "OH THAT IS IT!" She screamed, once again aiming pumpkin at him, only this time the barrel was pointed below the belt.

Before anyone could become less than what they already were, the door opened to reveal Akame. She looked between Tatsumi and Mine. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Nope, nothing's wrong!" Tatsumi said a little too quickly.

Mine rolled her eyes and humphed, lowering pumpkin. Akame decided to ask what happened later, but it was probably just Tatsumi and Mine butting heads again. Sheele and Lubbock were blushing and Leone looked like she had stumbled onto a gold mine. Akame briefly wondered what that was about before she turned her attention to the book. She picked up the leather bound journal and handed it over to Sheele. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Sheele said, taking the book and going to the first page. "The following is information on the elite fighting force known as the Jaegers. All of the following are Imperial Arms user, this is what I have been able to gather-"

"Just hit the highlights." Mine said, the sniper eager to get back to sleep.

Sheele nodded. "First is Wave. He's a naval soldier raised in the far side of the empire. His fighting style is similar to Tatsumi's, being headstrong with overwhelming power to defeat the opponent."

"HEY!"

Sheele smiled slightly, "Kaneki's words, Tatsumi, not mine. Anyway, his Imperial arm is Grand Chariot, an armor-type Imperial Arm that is, by his own admission, an upgraded form of Tatsumi's Incursio armor. Follows orders to the letter, and out of all of the Jaegers, the one that holds the greatest chance to be manipulated by me. Ignore for now. Second is Ran. Fighting style is cool, calculated and cunning along with excellent forward planning skills. Imperial Arm is called Mastema. A winged-type Imperial Arm that provides flight and excellent sniping potential. Recommend Immediate elimination. Third is Bois. Imperial Arm is called Rubicante. A flamethrower-type Imperial Arm that shoots out flames to ignite everything that they touch. Cannot be put out until target is completely destroyed. Seems like more of a support role and remains one of the team's heavy guns. Recommend elimination at a later time. Fourth is Doctor Stylish. Imperial Arm Perfector, support type. Has his own personal army of enhanced human puppets that can be used for cannon fodder. Fighting style is...stylish?"

Everyone at the table blinked and Sheele shrugged, "It just says you'll know when you meet him. Uses his Imperial Arm to heal the team. He boasts that he can heal any wound short of death. Recommend Immediate Elimination. Finally, Kurome."

At the mention of the name Kurome, Akame visibly hardened. Sheele looked over at her friend with worry. "Is something wrong?"

Akame looked like a statue with how little she was moving. After what seemed like an eternity, she asked, "Is that all?"

Sheele looked through the book, double checking everything. "No. That's everything besides Esdeath."

Akame nodded and Tatsumi asked the question, "So who's Kurome?"

Akame looked down at the table "She's...my sister."

Tatsumi's jaw dropped. "You have a sister! Since when!?"

"Since she was born, dumbass." Mine said with an eyeroll.

"Can it!" Tatsumi retorted back at the sniper.

"I already know everything about her, so there is no need for Kaneki to get information.", Akame started, "Her Imperial Arm is March of the Dead: Yatsuhusa. Those cut down by the blade become Kurome's living corpse dolls. This Imperial arm can curse up to eight people that I know of. She can freely manipulate the doll and they have all of the abilities they had in life. If she rescinds her ability, they turn back into ordinary corpses."

Tatsumi's face blanched. "Which means if you get killed by her, you get a fate worse than death and turn into an enemy, right?"

"Well, you'll be dead, so you don't need to worry about that, do you?" Leone sarcastically added.

"Anyway." Tatsumi said, shooting an angry glare at Leone, "Why didn't she come with you when you left the empire?" he asked.

"I offered, but she wanted to stay. she called me a traitor and has been trying to kill me ever since."

A moment of silence followed as everyone looked at what they were up against. It was bad odds, each of the Jaegers seemed like they could take on one member of Night Raid each. Kaneki had a plan to put one of them on the team, but that seemed like only a partial solution.

"So about Kaneki's tournament plan." Lubbock said, trying to get the conversation rolling again "Out of all of us, only myself, Leone, Mine and Tatsumi will be able to participate. Right now, I'm backing my name out. I don't even want to be under the same roof as that freak."

"Esdeath or Kaneki?" Sheele asked.

"Pick one.", he said, "Anyway, I say we give this one to Tatsumi."

Tatsumi blinked not expecting the recommendation. "Why me?"

"Well out of all of us you are the least proficient with their Imperial Arm", Sheele explained, "That means your fighting style is independent of the armor and you can go in without revealing that you have Incursio."

"Plus, you used to be Kaneki's waiter.", Leone added, "He'll be able to talk you up better that way. If you make a good impression, you'll get in for sure."

Akame nodded. "Tatsumi, any objections?"

Tatsumi thought about it before shaking his head "None at all."

**The Next Day**

Kaneki looked out his free eye at the fight in front of him. He was currently in the center stage of the fighting competition that he had originally planned as a small thing, but he didn't expect the turnout. The stadium was packed with thousands of people from the Capital or from the villages close by. People knew of the prize, nearly ten thousand gold in payment for the strongest man or woman in the tournament. The prize money brought people from every corner of the empire to test their mettle against each other. So far, the fights have been interesting enough, but Kaneki saw nothing special in the fighters themselves. The only thing that Kaneki had seen that peaked his interest was spying Lubbock and Leone in the stands. 'Good, they're here.' Kaneki thought.

He, along with Wave, were the only two announcers for the fighters in the ring. Their job, obviously, was giving out the names of the fighters and announcing the winner. Kaneki didn't want to do it at first, but it gave him a good view of the fighting taking place. After a few announcements, Kaneki realized he had a decent announcer's voice. His serious nature added a certain depth to the fights that he presented. That was according to Wave, so he didn't put much thought into it. The current fighters were a samurai looking man and what could only be described as a greek gladiator with a shield and an axe. The two of them were positioned at separate ends of the stage, so they could see the fight from every possible angle. Kaneki was able to walk up to the head box for a rest every once in a while when things became too bothersome. He shot Wave a glance and the soldier nodded. Kaneki made his way up the long flight of stairs to the press box, where he found Esdeath atop a huge throne with Ran next to her with the list of names.

He gave Ran a nod and the blond teacher returned it with a bow. Esdeath yawned loudly.

"So what do you think of these ones, General?" Ran asked.

"I think boring fighters make for boring fights. It was a little too much to ask for someone capable of joining the Jaegers to suddenly appear, huh?"

Kaneki made a show of sighing, "Sorry General, it was a good idea at the time, but it appears to have backfired."

Esdeath lazily waved the comment aside, "It's not your fault Kaneki. You appeared out of no where so I was holding out hope, but all that accomplished was giving me a nap."

Kaneki nodded before checking on the fight. The two fighters still looked to be going at it strong, but the gladiator looked to be slowing down considerably. His axe swings were off center and aimed loosely at his opponent. The samurai, on the other hand, sensed victory and his speed was actually increasing, but Kaneki didn't pay too much attention. He walked over to Ran and looked at the list of names. As he was looking, he noticed a name he recognized, the realization making him smile. Ran tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the stage. The match was over and everyone was cheering for the victor samurai.

"Winner! Nobunaga of the Dry-Goods Store!" Wave announced.

Everyone clapped for Nobunaga out of either giving a good show or just out of courtesy. Esdeath didn't bother doing anything other than yawn. Kaneki walked to the edge of the head box and gestured for Wave to take a break for the next match. He quickly made his way down the stairs and to the center of the stage. He looked to the opening doors, and the next fighters came up to the stage and approached the center. One was a huge man with a bull for a head, a black shirt covering his abs. His white pants connected to his shirt collar by a chain. Kaneki suspected it was for show. The other fighter was Tatsumi, who Kaneki noticed had a wardrobe change. He wore the same shirt and pants that he always wore, but this time over his shirt was a long overcoat and on his feet were a pair of black military style boots.

Kaneki looked between the two fighters. "In the east Corner! Karubi the Butcher!", Kaneki said over the intercom, "And in the west corner! Tatsumi of Anteiku!" he finished.

Back up in the head box, Esdeath pirked up "Tatsumi?"

"You know of him, General?" Ran asked.

Esdeath shook her head. "Of him only. He was Kaneki's new waiter at his cafe before it closed. He was going to introduce me to him, but it appears that we have to hold introductions afterward."

Down at the fighting ring, Tatsumi glanced at Kaneki and the half Ghoul gave the swordsmen a nod. He returned the nod before looking over his opponent, who of course was being overconfident just because of his small stature.

Karubi laughed. "You're a tiny one, ain't ya? That prize money's already in the bag! Kukuku."

The boar man leaned forward as if to spit on Tatsumi. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I may have been excommunicated, but I'm a 9th level master of the Imperial fist, ya know!"

Both Kaneki and Tatsumi took the boasting with the same neutral expression. Kaneki did take the time to overlook Karubi's statement and was surprised to find that despite all of his arrogant boasting, he wasn't lying. If Kaneki gathered everything correctly this man hadn't spoken a falsehood since he stepped into the ring. He put himself in Tatsumi's shoes and estimated how fast he could put the man into the ground. He estimated around a minute and if Tatsumi had kept his promise to achieve a strength greater than Bulat, then he should only take two.

Tatsumi looked up at the smiling face of his opponent and for some reason found himself reminiscing. He thought back to the first day that he arrived at the Capital. If he had fought someone like this then he would be shaking in his boots right now. After everything that had happened so far with the Three Beasts and Kaneki's displays of freakish power, this guy was nothing more than a pebble on a long winding road. Tatsumi saw Kaneki raise his hand to start the match and felt himself go into a deeper sense of calm, like a veteran about to fight a battle they know they'll win.

"Begin!" Kaneki called.

Karubi smiled a devilish smile before launching himself at Tatsumi "LET'S GO! FEEL THE FULL POWER OF MY DESTRUCTIVE FIST!"

As Karubi came close, Tatsumi crouched low, as if to sprint forward. Karubi's fist struck the floor. but as quick as a bullet, Tatsumi vaulted atop of his attacker's arm and launched himself into the air. Karubi barely had time to turn his head as he came down in a spin, landing an axe kick on the boar man. The blow slammed Karubi's head into the ground with enough force to knock the man's face onto the ground. Karubi could tasted dirt and blood in his mouth. Tatsumi landed right next to him with as much grace as a dancer. He spun on the toe of his left foot and slammed his right into Karubi's side, sending him skidding across the arena floor.

Everyone in the crowd was speechless at this point. They had expected this fight to be a one- sided battle, but in a far different way. What they were seeing now was an eighteen year old boy, by all rights, beat the living shit out of a master twice his size with only two moves. Kaneki looked over the stunned faces and he felt the urge to smirk, but he held himself back. He lost the fight, however, when he noticed Ran and Esdeath copying the reactions of the crowd for the most part. Ran said something to Esdeath, who nodded in agreement. Kaneki didn't know what was said, but he was sure it was something along the lines of "The boy is quite skilled".

Karubi's screaming in defiance broke Kaneki out of his enjoyment. The bigger fighter looked like both his pride and his face had been broken in two. His hog nose was now bending at an odd angle and the rest if his face was cut up and bruised. He also had a nasty looking wound on his side where Tatsumi had kicked him, but the big man seemed to be too angry to care about it. He roared as he rushed Tatsumi again with a flurry of crazy, off-balanced punches. Tatsumi looked like he was walking through the park as he effortlessly dodged or swatted away the strikes. As Kaneki watched him open up holes in Karubi's guard, Tatsumi decided to let him keep trying, if only to tire himself out. Tatsumi was toying with him, and to anyone with the experience it was clear to see. Kaneki wasn't sure why he was. Was he enjoying the fact that he was stronger? No, he was making a show. His purpose in this fight was to get into the Jaegers, so he was making sure he was showing how good he was to get on Esdeath's watch. Kaneki had to stop himself from laughing. Night Raid was actually going with that plan of his completely and so far he hadn't seen any interferences from any other members of the Assassination group.

This was exactly what Kaneki wanted to happen, but there was something bothering him. As he watched Tatsumi bend backwards and flip up while kicking Karubi in the jaw, he felt a chill go down his spine. He was forgetting something, he was sure of it, but for the life of him he couldn't put his finger on it. Was it something with how Tatsumi was fighting? No, he was fighting like someone with far more years of experience. It was also clear that if he was given a few more years, he would be even better. Tatsumi also stood out in the crowd of people. His expressions and looks were similar but foreign to the normal squabble of the Capital.

Kaneki actually scratched his head. it was bothering him so bad, but what the hell was it? He then watched as Karubi gave one last battle cry and shot his last desperate punch at Tatsumi's head. The brown haired swordsmen didn't even flinch or blink as the fist came close. At the last minute Tatsumi deflected the blow upward before putting his own fist back behind him. He rushed forward to capitalize on Karubi's off-balanced stance and put a powerful blow in the man's stomach, destroying what ever organ that took the brunt of the impact. Karubi and Tatsumi stood still for a few seconds before Karubi coughed up blood and fell backwards, defeated.

Kaneki raised a hand. "That's it! Tatsumi is the winner!" he announced.

The crowd took a few seconds to take in everything that happened before them. As soon as those seconds were done, they screamed and cheered for Tatsumi. He blinked as he looked at everyone cheering for him and felt himself get embarrassed. "Everyone is cheering for me?"

His face lit up as he smiled widely. "I did it!" he yelled.

He looked at Kaneki and smirked. Kaneki smirked back, but the chill came back when Tatsumi smiled again and waved to the crowd. A few young girls in the crowd looked like they were about to faint as Tatsumi bowed in their direction. Talent, fearlessness, exotic features, and a bright smile. Tatsumi was a real catch, Kaneki realized. All those facts combined with the chill made him remember the night before and he quickly shot a look at the head box. He couldn't see it very well, but Esdeath was blushing.** Hard**.

'_Shit_' Kaneki thought as the general started coming down the stairs to the arena.

Tatsumi's jaw dropped in surprise as he desperately turned to Kaneki. "She's coming down, is that a good thing?" he mouthed to Kaneki.

Kaneki shook his head no and mouthed back the word "Run".

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. Why would Kaneki want him to run? It was too late to make a decision as Esdeath took the final step and arrived on the stage. She walked over and stood a few feet away from him. "Your name is Tatsumi, correct? It's is a good name, proud and strong."

"Th-Thanks." Tatsumi stuttered out.

Tatsumi took his first quick look at the general up close. She was as beautiful as the boss and what Kaneki had described her. She was the person who issued the orders to the Three Beasts. Tatsumi felt his fists clench in rage. '_If she didn't exist then Bro wouldn't be dead right now. So many people would still be alive, but since she's here they lived in hell._' he thought.

A hand landed on his shoulder and the contact snapped Tatsumi from his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder and found Kaneki. "It's rude to ignore the General, Tatsumi."

"Huh?" Tatsumi said before realizing his mistake. "Oh! I'm sorry, General. I was lost in thought."

Esdeath waved it aside "No need to apologize. I have heard a lot about you, Tatsumi."

"Really?"

Esdeath nodded "Yes your old employer here was wanting to introduce the two of us at the cafe, but fate didn't allow us to meet under those circumstances."

Tatsumi spared Kaneki a glance and he just stared back at him. In his eyes was a warning and Tatsumi couldn't figure what for. He then noticed Kaneki silently pointing at his clenched fist and he forced himself to relax.

"That match just now was superb, Tatsumi." Esdeath said, getting his attention once again. "I wish to give you your reward."

Tatsumi bowed "Thank you very much."

Tatsumi shot a wink at Kaneki, signaling a mission complete, but Kaneki was still sending a warning look. Tatsumi tilted his head slightly in confusion at what Kaneki was worrying about. Those thoughts died when he felt cold steel attach itself around his neck. He looked down to find a collar around his neck whose chain led into Esdeath's hand. She placed her other hand tenderly on Tatsumi's shoulder. "From now on, you'll belong to me and only me."

He blinked. "Eh? What!?" He asked.

Esdeath wordlessly turned around and began dragging the brown haired boy away. Tatsumi grabbed at the collar and screamed in protest. "Wait! Stop! What the hell is going on!? Kaneki! Help!"

Kaneki stood there, too surprised to do anything. He expected something bad, but this, this was something he didn't expect. Esdeath brought Tatsumi closer. "This place has too many distractions. Come with me to the palace."

"Wait a-" Tatsumi screamed.

His cry was cut short when Esdeath delivered a swift hand chop to the back of his neck. "Nope, I can't wait."

Tatsumi barely had time to think before he crumpled atop of Esdeath's shoulder. The ice general held him like a gentle lover and whispered something in his ear that Kaneki couldn't make out. She picked up Tatsumi bridal style and began walking away. "Kaneki, this tournament is over. We have found what we were looking for and more."

Kaneki forced himself into a bow but he did so staring daggers at Esdeath's back. Someone, somewhere must think it's funny to take all of his plans and turn them on their head just for fun. If there is a god in either world he had visited, he must be one hell of an ass. He straightened his posture and addressed the crowd. "Sorry for the interruption ladies and gentlemen! But by order of General Esdeath this tournament is now over! The Empire thanks both the fighters and the audience here for their contributions! Please exit the arena in an orderly manner and have a nice rest of your day!"

The crowd of people processed what just happened before them and Kaneki's words surprisingly fast. Within a few minutes the majority of those attending the fights were out of their seats and leaving the stadium. Kaneki used this moment to sneak away from any guards or Jaegers. He used the leaving crowd to his advantage, and soon he found himself in the Capital streets. He started walking, not running, to a book store on the other end of town. You don't run when you're trying to get away from someone. If you run then it shows that you're afraid and don't want to be caught. Walking away blends you into the crowd and every animal on the planet is more dangerous when they keep themselves in a group.

It took him longer than what he wanted, but Kaneki arrived at BookNight, Lubbock's book store and in capital base. He walked in and found a welcome sight, Lubbock glaring pure elemental hate at him. Lubbock wordlessly flipped a switch opening a secret entrance to a underground hideout. Lubbock went down first and Kaneki followed soon afterwards. When they finished descending the stairs he felt the number of hate-filled gazes multiply. Around a couch of empty beer bottles and discarded wanted posters sat Mine and Leone.

Kaneki heard the entrance close above him and after a second of awkward silence Mine voiced her opinion. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" she demanded.

Kaneki didn't even flinch at the loudness or anger of the voice, but he caught Lubbock flinching in pain in the corner of his vision. Kaneki took a deep breath. "I will admit, I didn't plan for this to happen."

Mine raised an eyebrow. "Really?", she asked sarcastically, "You couldn't plan a better trap than that! It was the biggest fuck up I've seen in a long time! So, what are you going to do?"

Kaneki shrugged. "Tatsumi's initiation was an interesting development but he will no doubt be part of the Jaegers. You still have our extra inside man and you still have a good chance of taking the Jaegers out from the inside."

Leone stepped forward to stop Mine from screaming, no doubt another prepared complaint. "So would you care to explain what we saw?"

"According to Esdeath herself she wanted to try her hand in being in love.", Kaneki started, "She even made a list with near impossible standards to who could even be considered a potential candidate."

"And let me guess, Tatsumi fit the bill perfectly?" Lubbock guessed.

Kaneki confirmed the guess with a nod. "It's almost comical how perfectly it worked out."

He sighed "I can't promise anything, but at least I can keep some of the heat off of him with my position. You have my word I will do everything I can to keep him out of trouble."

Mine snorted. "Like you've been doing a great job of that so far."

Kaneki narrowed his eye. "I gave you my word. This time everything will be fine."

Mine rolled her eyes in a disbelieving manner. "Sure it will."

Kaneki returned the sniper's eye roll before a thought struck him. Kaneki smirked. "Why are you getting all mad at me for something I have no control over? Its not as if you have feelings for Tatsumi. Or do you?"

Mine's face flushed to a red hue, but everyone in the room knew it wasn't from anger. "Th-That's insane! How could I like a jerk like that!"

"Sure you don't." Kaneki said sarcastically.

"YOU ASS!"

Lubbock and Leone tried their hardest but they weren't able to keep a smile off their faces. The laughing moment didn't last long however as everyone turned serious "We'll do our best, but just try to keep him out of harm's way." Lubbock pleaded.

"I'll try my best."

**Outside the Jaeger's Meeting Room**

Kaneki walked through the empty halls of the palace corridors, thinking over what will happen. Despite the little hiccup known as Esdeath, Kaneki's plan to get a member of Night Raid on the Jaegers worked out perfectly. He should be celebrating on a job well done, but that little hiccup was more like a road block. He realized having someone who could play with Esdeath's emotions and attack her where she had no defenses would be a good thing, but Tatsumi would have to be the one to do those attacks and Kaneki was sure that he was neither the type or that much of a strategist to think like that. However, Kaneki had a potential teammate that Esdeath might hesitate to kill. The thought of her hesitating to kill anything was a little farfetched, but it was still there. With that thought over, Kaneki found that he had arrived at the door of the Jaeger meeting room.

He opened the door just in time to hear Esdeath finish her introduction "-and so this is the newest addition to the Jaegers, Tatsumi."

Kaneki grit his teeth, but he did a very good job of keeping his face as neutral as possible. Tatsumi was tied in chains around one of the only remaining chairs in the room. He was settled before all of the Jaegers, along with Esdeath.

Bois was the first to voice a thought. "So you just dragged one of the populace, just like that?" he asked.

Esdeath nodded, like doing something like that was common practice. "Now he'll no longer have to live in poverty. He isn't just an extra man for our group like we originally planned either. I felt it, Tatsumi is the one who will become my partner in love."

Esdeath said the last sentence with a flushed face and Kaneki swore he saw hearts flying around the love struck general.

Wave grimaced. "Poor bastard." he muttered.

"You don't know the half of it." Kaneki agreed.

Wave turned his head to look at his Captain. "Oh, hello Captain. General Esdeath was just in the middle of introducing-"

Kaneki held up a hand. "Don't worry, I know."

Esdeath noticed Kaneki coming in as well. "So where were you Captain?"

"Taking my hour off." Kaneki said.

Esdeath thought over the statement but she shrugged it off. Wave scratched his head. "If he's going to be a member of the Jaegers, why does he have a collar around his neck?"

"Because he's going to become my lover, of course. That and I want him to stand out." Esdeath said like it was average conversation.

Behind her, Tatsumi's face was a deadpan of "Really?".

Ran cleared his throat. "Well, if you want him to be your official lover and not your pet, shouldn't you remove the collar in order for there to be a difference?"

Esdeath blinked before putting a hand to her chin, thinking it over.

"Hmmm, that is certainly true. I'll remove it."

Wave and Tatsumi's faces both fell into exasperation. Kaneki looked between them and pitied the two of them for a moment, but just a moment. Esdeath reached into her jacket. "By the way, are any of you married or have lovers?"

No one moved for a second before Bois raised his hand. Wave's jaw dropped. "Seriously!?"

Kaneki raised an eyebrow. "Really, Bois? You said nothing at our little conversation on the subject last night."

Bois waved his hand. "I didn't say anything because I was too embarrassed to speak. But yes it is true, I've been married for six years now. I really don't deserve someone as wonderful as her, though!"

Tatsumi let out a nervous laugh while raising his hand. "I'm really happy that you've taken a liking to me and all, but I'm not all that interested in working for the imperial court."

Kaneki glared at Tatsumi for a second, but the latter didn't notice. Getting on the Jaegers was the whole point of going into the tournament. He was willing to give him a pass, though. He wouldn't want to be the subject to Esdeath's affection either.

At Tatsumi's statement, Esdeath laughed. "Fufu, It will likely take a bit of training to get you to be obedient."

"PLEASE LISTEN TO WHAT'S BEING SAID TO YOU!" Tatsumi screamed at the General.

"Don't bother.", Kaneki said, speaking up, "She doesn't listen to weak people."

"HEY!"

Before anyone could say anything more, the door to the meeting room burst open. Standing in the doorway was a messenger man holding a clipboard. "General Esdeath! As ordered, I've finished the report regarding the area around Gyogan Lake!"

Esdeath smiled "Great. This timing is perfect."

She faced the group. "I hope you're ready. Your first big job has come up."

She gestured at the messenger and he brought over a map of the Lake over to the room's only table. Esdeath spread out the map so that everyone could have a look at the information. It took a while, but Kaneki was able to get Tatsumi out of the chains and the collar, enabling him to walk again.

Once everyone had a look, Esdeath began again. "I have one thing I'd like to ask all of you before we move out. Each of you will be required to eliminate dozens of people. This type of work will be what we will be doing from this point onward. Are you all fully prepared for that?"

No one spoke for a moment, before Bois stepped up. "Even if this is the type of work that I must do, I am a soldier. I will follow my orders till the day I die, even if it means I must kill."

The sound of a sword coming out of its sheath followed Bois' declaration. Kurome stood at the end of the table brandishing a black metal katana "I am the same. This is merely following orders, as that is always the way I have thought about it."

Wave shifted from where he was. He looked at Grand Chariot's key. "I was able to join the navy due to the patronage of a certain great man. If I were to ask him how I would repay such a favor he would tell me: 'Just do your best and fight for the sake of your country. That's all you need to do'."

Wave sheathed his sword and stood tall. "I will do even these things, even if it means taking the lives of others!"

Ran stepped up next to Wave and brushed off the dust on his book. "For the sake of making my desires come to fruition, I wish to rise higher and higher. Even if it means I can't do the purest of deeds. I see in that way, I wish nothing more then to finish this mission to the best of my ability."

Esdeath nodded. "How about you Doctor?"

Stylish smiled. "My guiding principle is quite simple. THAT IS THE PURSUIT OF STYLE! Do you understand, General? Captain?"

"Not at all." Esdeath said.

"I'm completely lost." Kaneki commented quickly, briefly wondering why he was asked.

"Oh its quite simple. From the moment I saw Esdeath-sama and Captain Kaneki I knew it."

He shot forward, striking a pose. "That unfathomable strength!"

Another shot forward and another pose "That ice-like cruelty and that animalistic gaze!"

He fell forward with his legs out before him and his hands covering his head "AHH, It's as if a pair of gods had descended from heaven itself! That style, without equal! I want nothing more than to study the two of you for the rest of my days!"

"Um...ok then." Esdeath said. Her gaze then went to Kaneki. "And you Captain?"

Kaneki rolled his wrist making his hand go in a circular motion "You've wanted me to be a part of your little army since the day I came here Esdeath."

Kaneki took his thumb over the top of his pointer finger, and with a quick motion he cracked the it. "Now that I'm here, it would be a shame if I didn't meet your expectations." he said with a sadistic smile.

The smile was almost,**_ animalistic_**, and everyone excluding Kurome and Esdeath took a small step back. Kaneki looked, _**inhuman**_. That was the only word that the Jaegers could think to describe him. While everyone was having a rethinking of the information, before them, Doctor Stylish looked almost orgasmic. That little display was so...so...so...STYLISH!

Esdeath smirked and tipped her General's cap. "Well, I see no doubts among you all then. That's good. Time to head out! Let's go, Tatsumi." she ordered.

The Jaegers made their way towards the door, but Tatsumi was too surprised to move. "Wait, me too?!"

"Of course, as a substitute member, it'll be good for you to see the abilities of your fellow members." Esdeath said.

Tatsumi mumbled something about crazy people, but he stood where he was. A second later, he found himself being dragged along the floor by Esdeath, followed by the Jaegers.

The killers then began their quick journey to the Lake fortress. It was a huge, but somewhat modest castle with several layers of stone walls encasing a steel fortress. Leading up to the castle was a huge staircase that went straight up the hill leading into the mountain fort. The Jaegers, aside from Tatsumi and Esdeath who were overlooking the entire Canyon from the edge, stood outside the stair case. Everyone was wearing their preferred battle armor, and Kaneki decided he needed a change from his normal waiter outfit. He now wore a black shirt under a white overcoat like Waves, along with military jeans. His boots were steel toed, but as he requested, they were as light as the makers could fashion them.

As the elite force walked up to the front of the fort, Ran spoke up. "We've memorized the layout and the enemy positions, so what kind of strategy should we use Captain?"

Kaneki put his hand to his chin in a thinking gesture. "Well, we are here to make a good first impression. I think a little showing off is in order." Kaneki decided.

Wave rolled his shoulder out. "Sounds like a good plan."

Bois just shrugged. "I will follow your orders, so I don't think my opinion is needed."

Kurome remained silent and Stylish only gave a feminine bow. Kaneki rolled his eyes at the doctor's actions. He looked up at the edge of the canyon and saw that Tatsumi was watching them with undivided attention. 'Perfect', Kaneki thought.

If he got the Jaegers to show off a little, it would be far better than any book he could write detailing what they could do. Seeing for oneself would be the best teacher out there.

"Bois." Kaneki said, making the flame Imperial arms user turn his head. "The door is stone but the people are flesh, introduced them to your flame."

Bois nodded and he brought out the nozzle of Rubicante to bare as the group reached the entrance to the fort. Instantly, a wave of enemy soldiers appeared from within and surrounded them brandishing guns, swords and bows.

"Hey! Did you even know where you were when you came to this place!?" one of the soldiers shouted.

"You guys have some nerve attacking from the front like this!" Another roared.

"You don't really think you're going to be getting out of here alive, do you!?" A third one screamed.

"Hey there's even a cute one!", A fourth shouted out, "We're really going to have fun with them when we take them back to base, Right Boys!?"

A chorus of battle cries echoed out through the fort entrance as the soldier aimed their weapons. Kaneki, like the rest of the Jaegers, remained unimpressed at the whole display. He glanced over his shoulder at Bois. "Bois, if you would."

Bois nodded before pointing Rubicante at the horde of enemies and pulling the trigger on the Imperial Arm. The men who came out to meet the Empire's strongest team were incinerated instantly, not even the ashes remained for those that stood in front. A few who stationed themselves at the back were spared from the instant incineration but the flames still reached them. They dropped their weapons and started to desperately put out the flames, but to no avail. Some managed to get to a water bucket but even that proved less than useless "WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THESE FLAMES!? EVEN WATER CAN'T PUT THEM OUT!"

Atop the walls of the fort Kaneki could see soldiers starting to realize that maybe they weren't as prepared for this as they thought. Kaneki's ghoul half smelt the fear like a hungry predator and he was happy to say that he was going to satisfy that urge very soon. When the flames in the entrance went out Kaneki led the Jaegers inside before addressing them. "Ran, Take to the skies. There can be none who escape from this fort. This is pest control, let no one even take a single step out of here."

Ran bowed his head before Mastema activated and his wings appeared on his back. "As you command, Captain." he said, flying off. A few archers tried to shoot him down but after a few movements with his left hand Ran sent several feathers through the archer's skulls.

"Doctor." Kaneki continued, making Stylish turn. "Your army is needed, the perimeter must be under our control and it needed to be ours before we arrived. Take care of it will you?"

Stylish dropped into a showing bow. "As the good Captain commands, my army will stylishly secure us victory!"

The good doctor snapped his fingers, and from the forest surrounding the fort, his advanced army emerged. Stylish extended his hands "You heard our dear Captain! Give us the perimeter!" he ordered.

No sooner did he finish giving the command did his army spring into action. They weaved through the trees and over the walls in ways that no human could duplicate. Bending and breaking their very bodies before putting themselves back together as they reached their target. Kaneki then pointed at Kurome and Wave. "Infiltrate the second ring, do what you will with those that try to stop you."

"Hai!" Wave said bounding off.

Kurome's only response was to put a lollipop in her mouth before catching up with Wave in a second. The two of them didn't even bother opening the gate. Instead the two Jaegers vaulted over the wall as easily as someone walking over a step on a stair case. As soon as they went over the wall, Kaneki could hear the sounds of carnage and body parts begin to fly. He looked around, but no one other then the doctor was left. "Well, good doctor this is where I must leave you."

Stylish raised an eyebrow. "And, pray tell, what will you be doing?"

Kaneki pointed to the castle in the center of the fort. "As the commander of the attacking force, it would be rude of me not to introduce myself to the fort commander. Tend to your army and support any who need it." Kaneki ordered.

Stylish smiled in acknowledgement. "Give them my regards, Captain."

Kaneki gave a swift nod before shooting off in the direction of the castle, his white overcoat flapping in the wind behind him. When he got to the gate, like Kurome and Wave before him, he jumped over with the same minimal effort. However instead of going straight over he remained on the top of the wall to overlook how the two of them were doing. The sight that greeted him excited his ghoul half and disgusted the parts of him that were still human. Bodies, tons of them, were laying on the ground; cut to pieces and the only thing standing was Wave and Kurome in the middle of the blood shed. The two of them seemed to be talking and a soldier was standing behind a wall outside of their vision. He reeked of sweat and fear but he quickly moved out of his hiding spot and aimed a rifle at the two Jaegers. Kaneki considered letting the man fire, but it wouldn't do any good. The bullet would either be blocked by the two or just shrugged off like it was nothing. So with the option of letting one of the Jaegers get injured out the window, Kaneki went with the alternative, making a good impression on the two.

As the man came out of his hiding spot, Kaneki jumped high from his wall. In the moonlight, his shadow covered the man and he barely had time to scream before Kaneki's right fist impacted with his head. The blow took the man's face and head straight down to the ground. If he was a normal human the blow would've broken the man's neck and that would be the extent of the injuries. But Ken Kaneki was anything but human. After four years of being the first Ghoul hybrid, his punch made the man's face go hard into the dirt and keep going. The man's skull crumpled like tin foil as he died with the contents of his head splattered along the ground. A few drops of blood got on Kaneki's new coat, but he figured that he could get them out so he wasn't too mad.

The sound of his attack made Wave turn away from his conversation with Kurome and see what the sound was. He smiled and waved over at his Captain. "Hi, Captain!"

Kaneki shook the blood off of his hand before pointing at the corpse "You missed one, Wave. Had he gotten a shot off, either you or Kurome could've been injured. Unlikely, I admit, but for the future keep a better eye on your surroundings."

Wave scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed motion. "Right you are commander. We'll be more careful."

"If you say so.", Kurome deadpanned, "I knew he was there the whole time."

Wave's jaw dropped. "S-seriously!? Why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't ask." Kurome responded.

"That doesn't even make any sense at all!" Wave complained.

Kaneki sighed at Wave's obliviousness and turned to make his way to the castle. Then, his right hand burned. Not as if it had caught fire, but burned as in a searing pain coursed through it. Kaneki grabbed his right hand with his left to stop the shaking and he bit hard on his lip, drawing blood in the process. His entire right arm convulsed and moved on its own like a crazed animal. Kaneki shut his eyes in a vain attempt to block out the pain, but when he could see again something red was glowing underneath his jacket. The Tattoo that came with the Ketsueki Shinigami began to move around like it was excited about something. Kaneki dropped to one knee and put his hand on the ground to steady himself, which happened to be right in the pool of blood of the man he just killed. As soon as his right hand touched the blood the pain intensified to a whole new level. Somehow Kaneki found himself bearing through the pain without screaming. That doesn't mean however that he didn't have to bite through his cheek near completely in order to keep his mouth shut.

Kaneki moved like a drunk and he dropped to the floor before rolling away from the blood. He made sure he wasn't in the blood anymore before forcing his will over his body once again. After a minute he found that he could move his arm like normally "Um...Captain?" a voice asked.

Kaneki reared around at the voice and found it was just Wave. The Navy man looked to be a little shaken but nothing that couldn't be shrugged off. "Are you ok?"

Kaneki took a deep breath before bringing his right hand over his left eye "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...Memories."

If Wave had anymore questions he didn't voice them. Kurome looked at Kaneki with a mix of confusion and curiosity. He shook his head. "Continue clearing the area, leave the interior to me."

"Are you sure Captain?", Wave asked, "If you collapse like that when you're in there you won't be able to-"

Wave stopped talking when Kaneki shot a look of animalistic rage at the Navy man. "I. Am. Fine." he growled out.

Wave just nodded and he went on his way to the other end of the compound. He tapped Kurome on the shoulder, making the small assassin follow him absentmindedly. Kaneki watched them go and when he was sure they were out of sight, he set his gaze on the castle before him. Up-Close, it was a lot less threatening than it was from a distance. Everything leading into the castle was closed. From the windows to the main gate, everything was bolted shut and no doubt concealed an innumerable amount of manpower. Kaneki ran to the wall of the fort, trying to get some height on the Castle before going in.

Once he had gotten a right amount of height to be able to jump to a closed window, he did just that. He shot straight for the wall and the window, and as he came close, he slammed his right foot and his left hand into the stone for both support and balance. At his current position he was right in front of the closed window. Somehow, he could tell someone was on the other side, and they were afraid. He could almost hear the man's breathing through the stone that separated the two of them. Kaneki felt a smile grace his lips. "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." he whispered.

He shook himself. Where had that come from? He shook it out of his system before punching the stone window with his free hand. The stone was hard and the first punch made the skin on his knuckles strain to remain attached to the bone, but Kaneki kept punching through the pain. After three punches, his fist finally went through. He smiled in satisfaction before getting a grip on the other side of the window and ripping the stone out of its housing. As the stone came out, the man behind the stone protection thrusted forward with a sword right at Kaneki's heart. The strike was made point blank but Kaneki's speed far exceeded what the man was expecting. Quicker than any normal human, Kaneki moved his left arm and grabbed the sword with his hand, stopping it in place. His skin wasn't even cut by the steel and the man holding the sword was dripping with fear-induced sweat and shaking nervously.

Kaneki smiled at the man and with a quick twist of his wrist, he snapped the blade in two. the man jumped back in fear, allowing ample space for Kaneki to jump through the now-open window. Kaneki pulled his foot out of the stone works and vaulted into the castle halls. The inside of the castle was how you would expect any other fort interior. Designed with soldiers in mind, not royalty. The walls, the floor and everything around Kaneki was a bland gray stone. The only defining feature of the hallway was a map on the wall telling how to get around. Kaneki thought it was weird for a fort to have something like this, but he shrugged it off as a lazy attempted to quickly train new recruits.

The man that once held the blade that Kaneki split was still on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. He looked between Kaneki and his blade with crazed, fear-filled eyes. "Wh-What the hell a-are you?" he asked, terrified.

Kaneki looked down on the man, saying nothing. Instead he looked at the map and studied it for a second. "Tell me, witch one of these rooms is the commander of this fort currently stationed in?" he asked the man.

The man looked taken aback, as if thinking the question just came out of no where. "W-Why the hell would I tell you that!?" he screamed.

Kaneki shrugged and moved as fast as he could. In the course of a second he grabbed the broken sword in the man's hand, ripped it out of his grip and slammed the broken blade through his shoulder. He screamed in pain for a second before Kaneki put his hand over the man's mouth to shut him up. "Because if you don't I'll just have to find someone else who will answer me. I'll stay here for about five minutes before I move on. And trust me on this, those five minutes are not going to be what you call enjoyable. Are we clear?"

The man gave a quick nod. "Good, now which room?"

The man slowly moved his free arm and pointed at the map. Kaneki followed his fingers path and saw that he was pointing to the main hall. Kaneki snorted. "The most obvious place. Of course its that cliche."

He then took the sword out of the man's shoulder, and using the bladed end Kaneki stabbed him through the head, killing him quickly. He let the sword go and left it in the man's head. After that he started walking to the main hall. Unexpectedly, no one came to greet him as he walked through the corridors. When Kaneki finally got to a set of giant wooden doors that he assumed led to the main hall, he moved back a little ways to build up speed before rushing the door and kicking it down. The wooden doors splintered like twigs and he landed on his feet. He looked up to be greeted by everyone he expected to show up on his way here. Guns, bows, swords, you name it, someone was pointing it at Kaneki. Rows of men were before him brandishing the aforementioned weapons, creating a human wall between him and the commander of the fort. He looked just like his men, scared shitless, but he was better at hiding it then the men around him. He wore a royalty style suit adorned with what Kaneki figured were military honors. His hands were behind him and Kaneki had little doubt they were shaking. Despite the attack on the outside and the fact that one man was attacking the center fort alone, the commander spoke with an authority that came with a man of his position. "Empire scum, you are either very brave or very stupid to come into this hall on your own. Surrender and I will put you down with dignity."

"Funny, you took the words right out of my mouth, Commander.", Kaneki said, "But as the Captain of the Jaegers, any rebel force needs to be put down."

The commander nodded, agreement written all over his face. He raised a hand and let it fall, a hellfire of bullets and arrows descended upon Kaneki. however, he had already ducked low and shot forward as soon as the commander had raised his arm. He crashed into the first line of men and they learned first hand, despite Kaneki's small build, he hit like an ultra-level danger beast. His first strike was into a man's chest. Kaneki felt the bones break under the force as the man he struck flew backwards, knocking into several others on his way by. He now found himself in the middle of a horde of blades as they attacked him from every direction. Before they could even come close to cutting his jacket, Kaneki jumped high to avoid them. To their credit, the men stopped their swords before they could skewer each other, but the moment didn't last long before gravity did its work and forced Kaneki to come back down. He came down like a meteor, crashing into the blades that were still out and forcing them to the ground where they promptly snapped. The shattering steel cut into everyone that were too close, with the exception of Kaneki, sending droplets of blood everywhere. As the men moved back from the pain, he didn't wait to continue his attack. His right fist came into contact with the cut up face of the man closest to the epicenter of the snapping swords. The man flew backwards like the others from the punch, but unlike the other times Kaneki didn't pursue.

Instead he felt his right arm start to twitch again. '_Dammit_!', he screamed in his head, '_Now? What the hell is wr-_'

It was then that he noticed the blood on his hand. The warm liquid coated his fingers and made his entire arm feel, incredible. It was the greatest sensation that he could describe. It was like he was a puzzle and something had added the last piece. Kaneki couldn't help himself, he began to chuckle. He chuckled louder and louder until it grew into a mad laugh that echoed through the hall. Everyone took a step back at the very sound of the laugh, it was the laugh of the devil himself, not a human. Kaneki looked over the men and felt a voice that wasn't his own ask "Would you kindly give me your blood?" it asked from his lips.

Before the men could respond, he shot forward to the nearest soldier and, using a straightened hand, plunged it into the man's chest. He coughed up blood, splattering the red liquid on Kaneki's cheek, but Kaneki didn't care. It was all over his arm, all of his blood. Kaneki ripped his arm out of the man and he fell forward dead. The others were looking at him in horror, but he didn't care. He was fixated on the blood that was now coating his hand. It was better than any meal Kaneki had ever eaten Just the feeling of power surging through him made him tremble with ecstasy as he felt the blood run off his hand. He smiled and stuck his hand into the growing pool of blood around him just to get more on his arm. As Kaneki's hand touched the pool, it was like he was injected with steroids. Power, life and blood lust surged through him more than anything else that Kaneki had felt before. So, like Alice following the rabbit, he gave in and let the feeling of power take over his will and reason.

As he stood up once again he brought the blood up with him. The pool of blood came up with his hand as if it wanted nothing more than to be connected to his flesh. It hung in the air like a magic trick and Kaneki gripped the outer edge of the blood as he felt it solidify around him. It morphed around his hand, forming a handle, hilt and arm guard. The rest of the red liquid lengthened and sharpened itself. When it was finished Kaneki was holding a crimson curved blade that reminded him of a Captain's cutlass. He grinned. "How fitting, a noble weapon for a noble position, but used for a sinful purpose."

His gaze then turned to the men. "Now my little bags, where were we?"

The next five minutes, Kaneki would never quite remember clearly. He could remember tearing into the men, his blood cutlass slicing through them like butter and hearing himself laughing as he did so. Even when some of the men put up their blades to block, his blood sword cut through the metal as easily as it did through air. As he killed, even more blood flew into the air, and it was glorious. Drops of the great liquid came close to him, Kaneki grabbing them out of the air and molding them into what they were meant to become: his weapon. Drops became bullets, pools became swords and corpses became the paint on the floor.

When Kaneki could finally make sense of everything around him he stood in the center of a pile of dead bodies. They were barely recognizable as people because they were in so many pieces. The only one left in the room that was alive apart from Kaneki was the fort commander. He was laying with one of his arms gone in the corner of the room. The once proud commander now sat in a pile of his own blood and his own excrement. Kaneki looked at him and then at himself. He was covered with blood, his entire uniform was a shade of red that made him look more like a monster than any part of a ghoul could. He dropped his blood cutlass and ran his right hand over his clothes. Like the pools below him the blood came out of his clothes and molded itself into different weapons. It took making two short swords, a throwing star and an small throwing knife to clean out his clothes. When he was done he approached the commander, who tried in vain to crawl away. When he got close, Kaneki stepped on the man's foot, crushing it and coating his boots in more of the crimson liquid. He cried out in pain and Kaneki simply waited for him to finish screaming. When he finally finished, he cracked his finger. "Are you done?" he asked.

The commander looked up at him in horror and barely whispered. "What the fuck are you?"

Kaneki looked at his right hand and then back to the commander. "You know, I really don't know anymore." he admitted.

And with that he delivered a punch to the man's neck, crushing his windpipe, forcing him to die gasping for air. Kaneki left him and carefully made his way through the bodies. As he made his way through the fort, he chose to go out the front door this time. He opened the main gate and standing on the other side of the door was Wave and Dr. Stylish. The gate opened, the two of them greeting Kaneki with a wave. "Hello, Captain.", Stylish said with a wink, "How was the fort?"

Kaneki glanced back. "Lets just say that even you would have trouble fixing those men doctor."

Stylish grinned at the challenge. "Oh really? You underestimate me, sir."

"And you underestimate how many pieces I made of those men." Kaneki countered.

Wave blinked. "Um, Captain, did you use your bare hands to do what you just said?"

Kaneki nodded

"And you don't have a drop of blood on you?"

Kaneki smiled. "Yes, and your point?"

Wave shrugged. "Nothing, it's just impressive."

After that the three met up with the rest of the Jaegers, along with Tatsumi and Esdeath, Kaneki and Wave opted to walk together with Tatsumi while Stylish and Ran stayed near the back of the group. Kurome stood next to Esdeath while the general asked Bois about capturing someone's heart. Bois thought for a moment "The trick to capturing your beloved's heart? Hmm...I would say It's about never giving up!" the pyro declared.

"I, myself, was rejected by my wife twice. But it's all about finding another chance to attack. Please keep that in mind that to some extent, it takes time as well so don't worry if your first attempt fails."

Esdeath, for her part, was taking in all of the information and even writing it down on a notebook. "Indeed, I see."

Tatsumi was listening to the whole conversation with a look of complete horror. Kaneki looked at the swordsmen. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah", Tatsumi lied, "Just thinking about what's going to happen next for me."

Kaneki shrugged. "Well, what's the worst that can happen?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Esdeath wants me to stay with her in her room." Tatsumi said.

Kaneki blinked before patting his friend on the back. "Sorry I said anything."

Tatsumi said nothing and for the rest of the trip home. Kaneki didn't feel any changes to himself, but the only thing different was that his body felt more complete than it ever did. And it felt,_** good**_.

Imperial Arm Name: Ketsueki Shinigami, The Blood Reaper

Type: Extract

Core Status: Active

Style: Multi-Weapon

Ability: The Imperial Arm manifests itself on the hosts arm. Any blood any part of the arm comes into contact with can be changed into any weapon the wielder desires. The blood weapons strength is determined on the amount of blood used, the more blood the stronger the weapon. At the wielder's command the weapons can revert to the state of liquid once again to pass through enemy weapons and armor. If enough blood is used the weapons are stronger than any modern armor and can cut through steel and other hard metals with ease. Even Armor type Imperial Arms are cut by these weapons but only as much as a normal knife to steel plated armor.

Trump Card: Unknown, records either destroyed or the information is unrecorded.

Side Effect: Excessive use of the imperial arm will slowly deteriorate the wielders sanity. After years of use or excessive use the wielder will be little more than an animal who believes they must take the blood of everything and everyone they see in order to satisfy a sort of primal hunger. Early signs are increasing brutality in simple actions or multi-personality disorder. Previous wielders clame to start seeing their inner demons after using the Arm for the first time. To keep his subject sanity in control the First Emperor placed a seal on the Arm. Only those that have gone through their own personal hell and defeated or fought with their primal demons can even touch the Arm without going insane in blood lust. Records show however, that subjects could still wield it even if they haven't defeated their demons. The Arm is one of the lost Imperial Arms of the Empire so further tests have not been conducted.

**Authors Note:**

**This chapter got Betaed! I feel like I'm finally doing something right on this sight! In all seriousness a special thanks to Nidle for Beta-Reading for me now, and for the future. And a longer wait needs a longer chapter, so enjoy.**

**Now there isn't much that I need to cover from the update post so I'll just hit the stuff I missed.**

**FIrstly, There's Kaneki's Imperial Arm I hope it was to your guys liking. And if questions on if its broken the answer is simple, no. If anything Kaneki's Kagune could beat it in the killing department just out of shear strength. Its not going to tear through Grand Chariot or other armored Imperial arms or is it going to slice through everything like butter, just most things. Plus the sanity thing, oh boy is that going to be exploited till it dies.**

**Secondly, Pairings. Not for Kaneki, for Tatsumi. After the update chapter a lot of different opinions are popping up so I as I need to write the next couple of chapters I would like a definitive answer. So on my profile there is a poll on witch Assassin our Brown Haired, so to be really epic, swordsmen should be paired with, Akame, Mine or Other. If you choose other please send a review with your pick.**

**So if you found this, Thanks for Reading =]**


	11. The Sides we Hide

**Current Achievements:**

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**This. IS. FANTASTIC! I honestly can't believe that I can make a story that over three hundred people like! I am sorry for all of the spelling and grammar problems that come in and out of this story. Never the less thank you everyone.**

**So here's what you guys came for!**

**Warning: Chapter has not been betaed**

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame Ga Kill**

Kaneki sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. It had been two days sense the Jaegers first mission. After such a great job the Emperor himself wanted to give them an acknowledgement for their work. It had been a short boring affair that Kaneki was sure was only to improve public opinion of the team. He didn't bother to remember the party, he ignored the food and kept to himself in a nice quiet corner. A few of the guest muttered gossip around him. Stuff like "A captain should be celebrating with his men not sulking in a corner." to admiration by the other soldiers.

"He's incredible. I haven't seen it for myself but I know people who went into the fort after he was finished. Everyone was cut into so many pieces you couldn't even tell they were human! He's a new captain but you better stay out of his way."

The real interesting part of the night however, came when he went to bed that night.

**Last Night**

_There were two things going through the head of Kaneki as he walked to his room. The first was that he wasted an opportunity. He was so blood dunk on the Ketsueki Shinigami's power that he wasted perfectly good meal that just sat there waiting to be eaten. Now however, he was glad that that didn't happen. From what he heard from the party guards they investigated the fort well. It was a slight chance but Kaneki figured there could have been evidence of his, other nature that they might've found. The second is that he needed to be even more careful than ever. Before a drop of blood would've triggered his ghoul half and his eye patch would be the only thing keeping his disguise together. Now he had to worry about touching any blood with his right arm, Great._

_He entered the room and as gracefully as a danger beast after a long hunt he flopped onto this bed. The room was a standard room for royals, so that meant an oversized bed, a desk for notes and a bathroom. Tatsumi said that he was sleeping in Esdeath's room, which was located a little ways away from his own room. Kaneki didn't expect Tatsumi to take advantage of anything but he did expect Esdeath to have a little late night fun. He wanted to be asleep when the noises started. Kaneki closed his eyes and waited for sleep to-"993, then 986, then we go to 979. Next up is 971!"_

_Kaneki instantly jumped out of the bed and took a fighting stance. Someone was in his room and he didn't even notice. He scanned the room till he found, himself? Sitting in the desk chair, with his feet up atop the desk in a disrespectful manner was himself. He was younger then he should be, around the age he was when he first became a ghoul. He wore his black battle suit and had white hair instead of the dyed black. He had his hand on his chin as if he was thinking something "No wait," Kaneki Other said "979 minus seven is 972, not 971. Well this is embarrassing isn't it? I mean we spent so much time practicing counting down from one thousand by seven that I was sure we would get that down."_

_Kaneki other turned his head and smiled at Kaneki. His teeth were coated red with blood and his eyes, both of them were the unholy black and red of a ghoul. Kaneki's eyes narrowed "Who are you?" he demanded._

_Kaneki Other chuckled "Do you need another mirror? Or am I not good enough for you? Actually, don't answer that I'm beginning to sound like your Ex."_

_Kaneki Other smiled again like he expected Kaneki to laugh with him, Kaneki didn't even move a muscle "Wow tough crowd." Kaneki Other said "To answer your question I have to say that." he put a finger to his left eye and put on a madman's smile "I am what will remain."_

_What will remain? That makes no sense. Kaneki thought, he said as much as well "Very descriptive, and it answers nothing." Kaneki deadpanned "What do you mean?"_

_Kaneki Other shrugged before laughing and Kaneki felt anger creep its way towards the surface "I don't even know what you are. Where did you come from?" he asked._

_The question seemed to startle Kaneki Other. He suddenly straightened his back and looked at Kaneki with pain filled eyes. Then, he started crying blood "Don't you remember me? How could you forget me?"_

_Kaneki clenched his fist in a vain attempt to control his anger "What the hell are yo-!?"_

_He didn't finish as Kaneki Other jumped at him. Faster, much faster than even Kaneki could move he was pinned against the wall by his smaller self. Kaneki Other was still looking at him through tears of blood. As he cried he pointed with his free hand at his ear "**How could you forget me**?" he asked._

_Before Kaneki could answer, something came out of Kaneki Others back. It was a red liquid that hardened around him and as it grew Kaneki felt something he hadn't felt in years. Real fear. When the liquid stopped flowing he was looking at, him. It had a mask over its face reminiscent of a insect head, all along its back eight leg like kagune protruded. They came together to form a centipede's tail. It looked at Kaneki with pure white eyes and a mad smile "**You're the only one who knows what it feels like. Remember? He put a centipede in our ear, and I was born. How could you forget?**"_

_Kaneki Other then snapped his head to the side as if realizing something "Or, did you think you could bury me? Is that what you thought?!" As the anger in his voice increased so did the pressure on Kaneki's neck. Soon he could barely breathe and the grip only seemed to get stronger "**I WILL NEVER BE BURIED! I AM THE REAL YOU AND NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO RUN YOU WILL NEVER BE RID OF ME!**"_

_Kaneki screamed in defiance as he struck back with his own Kagune. The two sets of four tails met one another and both sides had their attacks countered by the other. The only difference was that Kaneki other had eight to Kaneki's four. Kaneki Other smiled before his remaining four stabbed Kaneki in the heart, neck, liver and head. Kaneki didn't even feel it but he was sure he would have died. Kaneki Other smiled "Didn't you once say that, No way in hell am I going to eat that! But, how long did it take for you to forget that?"_

_His eyes snapped open sometime latter, now however he was alone. The only thing to indicate something had gone wrong was the dent in the wall where Kaneki Other had pushed him. Kaneki fell to the ground and started panting, a sudden weight finding itself on his shoulders. As he regained his composure he noticed his tattoo. The Ketsueki Shinigami was flashing a red hue and then going back to normal like it was a turn signal in a car. As Kaneki watched the red hue became more and more defined. It was like his Imperial Arm was, Laughing?_

**Present**

Now, Kaneki was looking at his tattoo. If what he gathered was correct, it was the Ketsueki Shinigami that was making him see himself as a ghoul. He had read that some Imperial Arms required a price in order to be used. Was this his price? More madness? Well then, welcome to the chorus.

Kaneki took a look out the window and found that it was already midday. He forced himself up and put on his captains uniform before heading to the Jaeger room. After the episode at the mercenary fort, the Jaegers had completed three successful missions. They were mostly "Clean Up" jobs as Esdeath called them. It only involved going after a few rebel factions so nothing to the revolutionary army was harmed. Kaneki had personally led each of the missions and all of them barely took any time at all. The Jaegers were a force to be reckoned with, even without Tatsumi in their ranks they cut down anything in their path. With four missions under his belt and all of them completed in record time with no casualties on the Empire's side, Kaneki was looking for a quick run up the ranking ladder. He even got a letter from General Budo and the Emperor themselves congratulating him.

The Emperor's letter was a long congratulations that Kaneki didn't bother to even read. What ever the Emperor needed Kaneki to know he would summon him and tell him like that, not through a letter. Budo's letter on the other hand only had one word "Continue."

Kaneki had never personally meet the Head General but he knew of his reputation. His word is law, if you break the law, he'll break you. His personality from what he gathered was to protect and serve the empire at all costs. Kaneki also had also heard of his Imperial Arm, Adramelech, The Thunder Gods Rage. One of, if not, thee most powerful Imperial Arm to be discovered. Only Esdeath's Daemon Extract came even close in power. In comparison, Kaneki's Ketsueki Shinigami was a paper tiger going against a hurricane, that was made out of swords.

Kaneki shook his head and focused on making his way to the main room. The walk was short and easy and when he opened the door to the room he saw three of the Jaegers. Bois was standing over Kurome and Wave, who were having a chess match. Bois seemed to be giving Wave advice because the navy man looked like he was having a hard time. Wave had both hands on his head and he was looking at the chess board with something akin to desperation. Kurome was on the other side of the board looking like she couldn't be more comfortable. The little assassin was currently holding her candy bag while sucking on some form of sugar treat. Kaneki cleared his throat to announce his presence making all three heads look at him for where they were. Bois was the first to speak after a quick bow "Morning Captain, you slept in quite a bit."

Kaneki forced a smile "Apologise, I just let myself get lost in a great dream."

"Well that's good to hear." Wave said "Now Captain, I have a favor to ask."

Kaneki raised a curious eyebrow "What do you require?"

Wave pointed an accusing finger at Kurome "Order Kurome to tell me on the way to turn this game around! She said there was a way but neither Bois or I could find it. So I'm sure she's lying!"

Kurome shrugged and popped another candy into her mouth. Kaneki eyed Wave with a deadpan expression "Of all of the things to ask your superiors, that's what you ask?"

Wave dropped his head in shame "I'm desperate here." he whimpered.

Kaneki sighed before walking over to the board "Why chess might I ask?"

Wave's head was still dropped in shame and Kurome had made it her life goal to never talk to Kaneki while she had candy in her mouth. That left Bois to answer the Captain "Wave wanted to increase his skills at planning ahead like you informed him. So he challenged Kurome to a game of chess."

Kaneki nodded, it was a good plan "So how long have you been playing this game?"

"This is the third game." Wave said in shame, his head still down.

Kaneki blinked before looking at Bois who nodded in confirmation. Kaneki glanced at Kurome "Not bad Kurome." he said.

Kurome just shrugged and continued to eat her candy. Kaneki then looked over the board at the pieces the two had. After a few minutes of searching Kaneki took Wave's last knight and moved it so that Kurome would have to go through it before taking Wave's queen. It was a sacrifice play but one that allowed Wave to turn to tide if he sees his advantage. Wave looked up when he saw Kaneki move his piece but he only gave Kaneki a questioning glance in thanks. His glance turned to one of thankfulness when he noticed the frustration on Kurome's face.

The next few minutes passed in relative peace. Kurome and Wave's game of chess got more and more intense but Kaneki opted to leave them to it. Kaneki made himself and Bois cups of coffee and the two were leaning on the side of the wall watching the chess match. Although Bois accepted the coffee, he didn't remove his mask and only kept the cup in his hand. Kaneki took a sip of his own drink while glancing at the coffee in the pyromancers hand "I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the coffee is good. Drink." he all but ordered.

Bois shook his free hand "It's not that I don't want to drink it. It's just that..."

"...You don't want to take your mask off?" Kaneki guessed.

Bois nodded "My face isn't something that others need see."

Kaneki raised the eyebrow on his good eye "Why? Because you think that we don't need to see the face of a sinner or something?"

Bois nodded and afterwards Kaneki couldn't help but chuckle "What's so funny?" Bois asked.

"You're a sinner and you hide your face with a mask." Kaneki said "It find, irony in that statement."

Bois raised his own eyebrow and Kaneki elaborated "We both have done things that give us a spot in the deepest corners of hell. Sometimes we justify it by saying we did it under orders but that doesn't change that fact that we ourselves commit those sins. So to live with the hell that we have made, we wear masks. We wear masks to hide something from those we hope to keep pure. But we forget that in our quest to keep them clean, we give up our own salvation."

Bois took in everything his Captain said and nodded "I had heard that you lived through a hell like mine. But, it gladdens me Captain that you have been able to take off your mask."

Kaneki's hand tightened around the coffee mug so hard so fast that cracks began to race along the cup. Bois took a small step away from Kaneki at that moment, he chalked it up to pure animal instinct "Bois, thank you for the sentiment. But don't misunderstand, I haven't taken my mask off since the day I put it on."

The two men stood in silence after that, the only sound being Kurome and Wave's game. As the minutes moved on the occupants of the room changed little. Kaneki and Bois still looked over the game of chess and Kurome and Wave were still busy playing it. Change did come however when the door to the room opened. Kaneki was the closest to the door so he reacted first. He clenched his fist, readying for anything that could come out of that door an-"Oh, DEAR!" a voice called out before being followed by a "Pa-Paa!"

Kaneki blinked, he wasn't expecting that. Bois besides Kaneki jumped at the voices "Hu-Uhhh? Why are you two here?"

The door closed and Kaneki could finally see who Bois was talking to. In the doorway a beautiful woman with long flowing blond hair stood with a small girl in her arms. When she caught sight of Bois her face melted into the most loving smile Kaneki had seen in a long time. She smiled to Bois like Nishiki to Kimi.

'_So this is the family Bois mentioned_' Kaneki thought. He took a step forward and bowed to the two woman "Greetings, I am-"

"Captain Kaneki." the woman interrupted "Bois has told us a lot about you."

"All the good things I hope."

She smiled at the comment before turning to Bois "We brought you lunch dear. Your job is a hard one so please be carefull."

Bois rubs the back of his head nervously "I promise dear!"

"Daddy hold me!" the little girl demanded.

As soon as she said that Bois scooped his little girl and held her high in the air before bringing her close. He pats her on the head before turning back to everyone else. Wave was sitting in his chair with his jaw on the floor while kurome was actually grinning.

"My wife and daughter know about everything I do. The good," he glances at Kaneki "The bad and everything else in between. And what's so great is that they support me through everything. That's why, no matter how bad things get I still have them. As long as I have my family I'm completely fine."

At the end of the statement Wave seemingly put both hands over his eyes as if to block some blinding light. Kurome and Kaneki felt no need to block whatever light that Wave was seeing so Kaneki decided he might as well talk "Forgive me for asking but you know my name but I don't know yours."

Bois' wife put a hand over her mouth and laughed a little out of embarrassment "My apologies Captain. My name is Harumi and this is Bois and my daughter Kimiko."

Kaneki nodded to both of them "It is wonderful to meet you. I heard of you from Bois but I never expected you to come here."

Harumi smiled "We're here for Bois. He needs to be reminded every once and a while that his family is here."Harumi said while pinching Bois' cheek in a playful manner.

Kaneki swore he saw Bois blush from under his mask. The loving moment was cut short however when what could be described as a zombie groan echoed through the room. Everyone turned to the sound and found an almost comical sight. Tatsumi walked into the room though its only other door, but the poor man looked like hell. His hair was in the worse case of bed-head distress that Kaneki had ever seen and the deep bags under his eyes made his face a portrait of an uncomfortable insomniac.

Wave looked the swordsmen over "Tatsumi, you look like hell." he commented.

His sentence was met with Kurome slapping him in the back of the head. He groaned in pain and rubbed his head before shooting a glare at Kurome "What was that for?"

"We have a child in the room." she deadpanned.

Wave quickly looked between Harumi and Kimiko before bowing his head so deep Kaneki thought he would go through the floor.

"I AM SO SORRY!" he screamed.

Tatsumi winced at the sudden increase in volume and rubbed his face with his hands. When he finally put his hands down to look at the room he noticed Bois and his family for the first time. He glanced at Kaneki "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nothing that can't be restarted." Kaneki said "You've already met Bois, this is his wife Harumi and his daughter Kimiko."

The two women at the mention of their name gave a slight nod at tatsumi's direction. Tatsumi gave a bow in response but Harumi waved it off "There's no need to bow Tatsumi."

Tatsumi scratched the back of his head sheepishly "Well it just seemed appropriate."

Before Kaneki could say something another door opened. From behind Harumi and Kimiko Esdeath walked out. Her hair was still undone and she had yet to put on her cap. If Kaneki didn't know any better he would have thought that she had just gotten up. Kaneki put on his 'Good Friend' smile "Afternoon commander, did you sleep in like I did?"

Esdeath put on her cap before nodding to Harumi and Kimiko "No, Stylish is working on something and I wanted an update."

Kaneki forced his face to remain as it was but underneath he was livid. What was Esdeath working on? In fact, Kaneki hadn't seen the good doctor in a while. He had seen him at the party but other then that he might as well be invisible. He decided to take the chance "What are you working on?"

Esdeath smiled a sly, evil smile "Something incredible."

Kaneki raised an eyebrow in a hope to have Esdeath elaborate but she ignored him "Tatsumi, for the next few days we'll be hunting. We're heading to Mount Fake." (AU: The actual name of the mountain, real creative)

Kaneki glanced at Tatsumi and the boys face practically lit up like a christmas tree. 'If he thinks he's going to use this as a chance to escape he's in for a world of pain.' Kaneki thought.

Esdeath glanced around the room "Kurome and Wave will going along as well. Remember, Mt. Fake is a perfect place for an ambush so keep your eyes open for enemies while hunting."

Wave did an one handed solute "Roger."

Kurome simply nodded.

"Until this evening we'll be hunting for treeman cells for Dr. Stylish. Once we get to the mountain, Kurome and I will search the east side while Tatsumi and Wave search the west. Once night falls however, Tatsumi will be with me." Esdeath said.

At the last statement Tatsumi's jaw drops in surprise and his head falls in despair. Wave pats the man on the back in a vain attempt to comfort him. Kaneki watched the whole exchange with an indifferent expression "And what will I be doing for the day General?" he asked.

Esdeath put a hand to her chin and thought for a moment "Well, Bois needs to report to Doctor Stylish for a project that requires his input. Well for you captain, you can escort Bois family out of the castle. After that the day is yours to use as you see fit."

In response to Esdeath's orders Kaneki bowed but on the inside he was beaming. The whole day to himself, it was as if Esdeath wanted him to take her down. Keeping up appearances he forced his face to remain its common neutral. Kaneki then waited for the five minutes that it took for Bois to say goodbye to his wife and child. It was full of hugging and kissing that Kaneki actually didn't mind. As they talked Kaneki couldn't see Bois as a target, he saw him as a father. In the long run he realized that such thoughts towards Bois would make him hesitate once the time came. But he knew, no matter how much respect he had for Bois or how much it reminded him of Ryouko and Hinami, he would cut him down.

Once they were done Kaneki opened the door leading out of the room and gestured out like he was taught a gentleman should do. Harumi smiled warmly before stepping though and Kaneki followed close behind her as she went passed. The three of them walked in silence for a while, the only noise coming from Kimiko as she squirmed in her mothers arms. Harumi then broke the silence by asking "My husband isn't a problem under your command is he?"

"Huh?" Kaneki asked "No, if anything he's the one pillar of sanity in a horde of weird. He follows his orders without question and completes them better then what I imagined he would be able to. He is a great soldier and a great council, he's a good man to have on the Jaegers."

Harumi breathed a sigh of relief "That's good to hear."

Kimiko brightened "Daddy it the best!" she exclaimed.

At the little girls proclamation Kaneki couldn't help but chuckle. Looking at the two of them, he felt like he was looking at a happy family. No connections to war, nothing to do with death and destruction, just love in the arms of one another. Kaneki would never voice it out loud but he was envious of that happiness. He would want nothing more than to have a simple life with the only thing worrying him is if a book series is going to have a sequel. When he thought about those things though he found himself going back to Japan, to Hide and Touka.

He shook his head to force the thoughts out of his head. Those memories would bring out everything he hated about himself, and he didn't need Kaneki Other to come back now. His efforts to keep a stable head were in vain as Harumi looked at him with genuine worry. Kimiko tilted her head in confusion "Is eye-pachyman ok?" she asked innocently.

Kaneki put a hand over his eye patch and tried his best to give a reassuring smile "Yes little one," he lied "It's just some stress that comes with the work."

Kimiko puts on a smile. It was the kind of smile only a child could have. A smile so devoid of anything other than concern or happiness that its innocence could almost be physically felt. For the briefest time as a child, everything in this world is good. From the people to the animals, and even the plants. Of course, its at that point that we grow up and we learn the hard way that the world isn't as happy as we thought it was. The real world is hell. There's no way around it, that's what the world is. We try to look at the colors of the land or we look up at the stars and their mystery but it doesn't matter. The planet and the world is perfect, it's just those that live in it that make it into hell. People exploit each other, hurt one another and if they're kind enough, they just kill each other. People start cities.

Cities start empires.

Empires bring forth rulers.

Rulers bring forth Tyrants.

Tyrants bring forth Wars.

And war brings death.

After a war the two sides drift apart from one another. When that starts, resentment towards the people each side believes to be different grow to hate each other. As the hate grows, violence comes with it. That two grows and grows until it bursts to the point that because they are different becomes a justification for genocide. Before he was turned, Kaneki wouldn't have batted an eye if every single ghoul was wiped off the face of the earth. They were nothing but human eating monsters that needed to be exterminated. Then he learnt the truth.

There was no difference which side you were on. Both sides didn't want to be born the way they were, they didn't want to be hated just for being born. So what if it mattered if they were ghouls? So what if it didn't matter if they were human? They just want to live, to be with the ones they love. They fight because...They're afraid. They want to have the strength to protect the ones they love.

"_**Hahaha, You really still don't get it. You're still an idiot.**_"

Kaneki turned around fast to locate the voice. But there was no one their other then him, Harumi and Kimiko. Kaneki took a few breaths before sighing "Sorry about that Mrs. Harumi. I must look like a wreck to you right now." he said.

Harumi looked Kaneki over before put on the smile she always seemed to have. Her smile was the evolved version of her daughters. The smile of one who has seen the hell of the world but is still looking for the beauty in it. Bois said both of them knew the details of his work, so how? How can they keep smiling like that?

"No not at all Captain." Harumi said "You look like Bois does after the work is getting to him."

"Oh," Kaneki deadpanned "I guess that's to be expected. Before I got this position I never had any experience in the military. So the fact that I have people under me, and their lives are my responsibility takes its toll."

"Do you want me to tell you how Bois gets through it?"

Kaneki blinked before his curiosity got the better of him "How?"

She holds up Kimiko and pinches her cheek. Kimiko wiggles in Harumi's arms "Mommy that hhuuurrrttttss." she complained.

"Oh it isn't that bad hunny." Harumi teased.

"That's not fair!" Kimiko pouted.

"Young lady, don't raise your voice," Harumi scolded "We're in the castle."

Kimiko put her head in Harumi's shoulder to appease her mother "Sorry mommy."

Harumi patted her head gently "It's ok dear, you didn't do anything to bad."

When Harumi looked at Kaneki his expression had changed. He looked at the two of them with a look of such bewilderment that Harumi couldn't help but chuckle a little. Kaneki took the chuckle like most would in his position, he frowned and didn't look to amused. When Harumi could finally speak she asked "Do you see? Bois is able to keep going because he has us. A loving wife and daughter that love him and want him to keeping going on protecting people. He has what few people have, a-"

"Family." Kaneki finished.

Harumi nodded "For the first years that I knew him, Bois was little more than a stranger to the rest of the squad we were in. He would always bring us tea, help us with our problems or do anything or everything in his power to try and make us happy. No matter the person, he would help despite if they treated him poorly because of his appearance. Eventually he opened up, he asked me out and, well. As you can see the rest is history." Harumi rocked Kimiko back and forth in her arms and soon that little girl was sleeping happily.

"He did mention something about failing a few times to ask you out. Your experience has made our newest member have a hell of a life."

Harumi had the decency to look bashful "I'm sorry but Captain is my point clear enough?"

Kaneki raised an eyebrow "Are you ordering a superior officer of the empire to go out of his way and find a wife?"

Harumi rolled her eyes "If you're going to be blunt, it just sounds like I'm pushy." Harumi adopted an expression that he had only seen on his own mother when he had said something smart assed. It was a mix of disappointment and healthy anger that a mother had when their point had been rebuffed.

Kaneki softened his expression in an attempt to ease Harumi "I apologize if I offended you in any way. But yes your point has been received."

Harumi's expression morphed to curiosity "And?"

"I can't."

"Why? Haven't met anyone?"

Kaneki felt a migraine coming on "No I've met a few that I would consider."

Kaneki saw Harumi roll her eyes again "Bois told me. The first tried to kill you and the other is somewhere far away. With those two options out of the way is there anyone here that you have met?"

Kaneki thought for a moment. He made it a point to never go out of the cafe unless he wanted a walk/he was hungry. The only regulars in his shop could be counted on one hand and they knew little about him and Kaneki knew even less about them. The only woman that he had any sort of relationship with was Esdeath and he'd rather starve himself then go down that route. That left...Sheele actually. Kaneki felt a chill go down his spine as, the more he thought about it, he wouldn't mind a relationship with the assassin. She was kind, caring from what he had seen and heard. Along with the added plus of being a fellow book lover. He looked to her as a disposable asset at first but now she had graduated to comrade like the rest of Night Raid.

As Kaneki thought he glanced at Harumi. The wife looked to be waiting an answer and Kaneki sighed "If you really must know, there is someone that I wouldn't mind calling my wife one day."

Harumi smiled "Well that's good to hear Captain."

"Kaneki."

"Huh?"

"My name is Ken Kaneki as you already know." Kaneki started "I would rather have those I respect call me by my name."

Harumi blinked before smiling "Well then, thank you Kaneki."

After that the two continued their walk in silence. They passed by guards but they simply bowed when they saw Kaneki and they were met with no interruptions. As they approached the main gate Harumi stopped walking. Kaneki stepped a few paces forward before stopping and turning "Mrs. Harumi, is something the matter?"

Harumi shook her head "Not really. I just have a favor to ask."

Kaneki didn't answer, he simply waited for Harumi to ask. Harumi looked down at Kimiko asleep in her arms "This family, we're all that Bois has to keep him going. But he's one of the few things keeping us going as well. So I wanted to ask the selfish favor, Can you keep him safe?"

Kaneki did his best to remain neutral to the question. He had expected he would be asked something like this. Someone would ask him to put one of the Jaegers above the others.

Kaneki shook his head "Harumi, you're asking me to put one member of my team above the others. As a Captain the whole team is a priority."

Harumi looked down to avoid Kaneki's gaze "I understand, sorry for asking."

She started moving forward to the gate but Kaneki put out a hand and stopped her progress. He looked up at Kaneki, whose own gaze was looking at the castle "Having said that," he started "I can give you my word. Under my command, your husband will fall only when I lay beaten and broken."

A smile instantly placed itself on Harumi's features. She bowed as deep as she could without waking up Kimiko "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, this war isn't over and Bois isn't home." Kaneki said smiling.

Harumi smiled back and she gave one last nod before she started walking towards the gate. When she stopped after a step Kaneki felt uneasiness creep into him. She looked like she was looking at a devil she was shaking so badly. He turned around and instantly he found what was making Harumi so nervous. Standing in the center walkway to the gate was a ma. He had a deep tan teng to his skin along with green piercing eyes. His face would be classically handsome except for the X-shaped scar that had begun to fade. He wore a white skintight shirt that revealed an extremely fit body and white pants to finish the look. Normally he would pass for some rich son of a general or noble that lived at the castle. But he looked at Harumi with such desire that Kaneki felt his fist clench.

He looked over Harumi lustfully and a serpent like tongue emerged from his mouth. It began licking his lips as if already savoring a great meal to come "My my, Aren't we the pretty one?" he asked while inching forward.

Harumi hugged Kimiko tight and pulled back from the man. At the action away from him the man laughed "Oh? You think that I can't get to you? Well that just makes me want you as my new play toy even more."

He then seemed to notice Kimiko for the first time "Oh you even have a daughter? That's even better! I have a friend that would love to meet her."

He reached out to grab Harumi arm but a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. The man looked annoyed and followed the hand back to its owner. He arrived at that very angry face of Kaneki staring down the man with his one eye "If you want to keep that hand, I suggest that you keep to yourself and go on your way."

The man scoffed before spitting in Kaneki's face. Kaneki wordlessly wiped the saliva off his face "Do you know who I am?" the man asked.

When Kaneki didn't immediately answer he continued "I'm the son of the fucking Prime Minister! And that me-."

The son of the Prime Minister didn't get any further as Kaneki punched the man hard enough for him to stumble out of the way. He rubbed the spot where Kaneki had hit him and looked upon the ghoul in hiding with a hate so pure and full of bloodlust that Kaneki felt himself think that, for a moment, he was something more than human. But when that uneasiness ended he gestured towards the gate to Harumi "You'd better return to your home mame."

Harumi nodded and quickly made her way out. The man looked at her before turning to Kaneki "You bastard. You dare cross me and ruin my fun? That's an unforgivable offense! Boiled alive? Cut down? Roasted? Drawn and Quartered? Buried Alive? Which kind of execution do you prefer? Or do you want the whole works?"

"I want you to shut up." Kaneki stated "Just hearing you complain is making me want to kill myself before the torture."

The man's eyebrow twitched "That's it, You're going to die."

He moved to grab something from his belt but Kaneki closed the small space between them in an instant. Before the man could react Kaneki punched him again, harder this time. The man spun around once before righting himself and his glare intensified "I." He snarled "I am the son of the prime minister! A nobl-!"

Another punch and another spin "And I just punched the face of a Noble. I don't care who you are, people who harm those under my protection will be dealt with. Even if you are who you say you are I am under orders of General Esdeath and Budo. Unless you have their full consent on the matter you cannot lay a hand on me. I am Captain of the Jaegers Ken Kaneki and you can stay out of matters that don't belong to you. So go on your business, **Now**."

The noble son of the Prime minister looked to be thinking the threat over. For a few moments Kaneki expected him to forget his place and just attack. Instead however, he stood up straight and began walking away. As he walked Kaneki turned and began walking the other way "You will regret this." the man warned.

Kaneki didn't even stop walking, nor did he even dignify that with a response. What ever the man could come up with in terms of torture it wouldn't even come close to what he already knew.

So with the rest of the day to himself Kaneki thought through his options. He could waste the day recuperating, but that wasn't going to help anyone. He could go hunting, but he still had a few weeks till that became an issue so he decided against that course of action. That only left either going after Tatsumi and Wave or Esdeath and Kurome or going to update his report with Night Raid. Tatsumi looked like he was looking forward to using this hunting trip to get away from the Jaegers. If his fear was of Esdeath was as great as Kaneki thought it was, he would get away as fast as he could. He wouldn't care about the mission inside man, he would just run at the first opportunity. Wave would keep a good eye on Tatsumi but Kaneki figured that if Tatsumi were anything alike they would lose sight of one another quite easily.

By now they would have just left so Kaneki had a chance of catching up if they went on foot. But if he was caught that would cause more problems than it would solve. He could have Tatsumi's help to kill Wave should anything come up, but Wave had more use as a pawn than a corpse. Kaneki gritted his teeth when he realized that he would have to trust Tatsumi to go on the course of the mission. He was going to regret this choice latter, he just knew.

So with his only option left available to him, he headed to the forest. He aimlessly walked around for an hour in the woods, making sure that nothing was following him. Behind him something stirred in the brush making Kaneki stop walking. He slowly looked behind him and studied the brush before launching off his foot and rushing the plant. When he got in close he kicked, uprooting the brush and revealing anything underneath. Kaneki looked at the airborne plant and saw the source of the stirring, a rabbit. When he realized it was just a rabbit Kaneki sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He was getting rusty if just a rabbit was enough to set him off.

Now, with that over with Kaneki began making his way to the Night Raid base. The trip was a quick one as Kaneki went as fast as he could while keeping up his pace. After about a minute of full out running he arrived at the cliff side where the base was built into the mountain. Kaneki made his way towards the front door and he knocked twice. Nothing happened at first so Kaneki knocked again, getting impatant. Before he would lower his fist the door did open, and as soon as it did Kaneki's neck was between the twin blades of a giant pair of scissors.

Kaneki looked between the scissors and their owner "Good to see you as well Sheele." he said.

Sheele, of course it was she, immediately pulled Extase away from Kaneki. Her face flushed in embarrassment as she put Extase behind her "I-I'M SO S-SORRY KANEKI!" she stuttered out.

Kaneki waved it off "No harm done Sheele."

Sheele nodded quickly and then the two didn't say anything more. They just stood there in awkward silence, during which Kaneki never saw the blush leave Sheele's face.

"Sheele are you ok?" he asked.

"Huh?" Sheele asked "Oh I'm fine don't worry about anything Kaneki." she said a little too carefree.

Kaneki narrowed his eye "Are you embarrassed about something? Is it something Leone said or something? Or...Is it me?" he asked.

When Sheele didn't deny or answer immediately Kaneki figured he had hit the nail on the head. Sheele began nervously rubbing her hands together and she turned away from Kaneki "W-Well it's just that." she began "Leone said a joke when we were reviewing your first report on the Jaegers. She said that you, my future 'boyfriend', had outdone himself. I was embarrassed to say the least but I thought that there was no way-."

She stopped talking when Kaneki put a hand of Sheele's shoulder. She turned around and saw Kaneki's warm smile. It was the same smile that he worn when Scheele had thanked him for saving her from that soldier girl. He patted her shoulder comfortingly "When this war is over, maybe."

After that he walked passed her and into the base. Sheele stood where she was for a few moments, her mind thinking over what Kaneki just said. A lot of things went through her head but the biggest one was 'There's a Chance.' She smiled like the happiest woman on the earth and closed the door. She was almost skipping by the time she caught up to Kaneki as the two were walking down the hallway. Kaneki glanced at Sheele and her smile was starting to make him, feel a little good actually. As he was walking Kaneki found himself looking Sheele over. Beautiful long hair, angelic features and her glasses just made her look even more adorable. Kaneki blinked, had he just thought that?

"So I um." Kaneki rubbed his head "I have a new report on the Jaegers. Might as well tell everyone when I see them."

Sheele nodded "No use repeating."

"Yeah, I don't have to do that much since soldiers are expected to follow a captain's orders as soon as he says them. Tatsumi still doesn't get that. In fact he's on a hunting trip right now with Wave if I remember correctly."

"Um." Sheele started but then she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself.

Kaneki realized instantly that something was wrong "What?" he demanded, anger seeping its way into his voice.

"About Tatsumi being on a hunting trip." Sheele said hesitantly.

Kaneki clenched his fist before increasing the speed of his walking almost to the point of running. He heard Sheele say something to him but he didn't listen. He stormed down the hallway until he reached a door wear voices could be heard talking behind. With knocking Kaneki opened the door and he gritted his teeth at what he saw. Tatsumi was sitting on one of the three couches surrounded by Akame, Mine, Leone and Lubbock. What ever conversation the five of them were having stopped as soon as Kaneki entered the room.

Kaneki's right hand clenched into a fist as he glared at Tatsumi. Under his gaze Tatsumi threw both of his arms up in defense "I CAN EXPLAIN!"

"Don't." Kaneki said angrily walking out.

He slammed the door closed behind him and Tatsumi blinked in surprise "That was, better than I expected."

Lubbock nodded in agreement "Yeah, I thought he would be angrier."

"Give it a second." Leone commented "It's just like a kid that snuck out in the middle of the night."

Everyone raised an eyebrow and the comment. But then they heard a loud crash and then Sheele bursted into the room "Kaneki just punched a hole in the wall!"

Leone clapped her hands pointing at a terrified Tatsumi "Called it."

**Underground Lab (Empire Castle)**

Doctor Stylish was getting frustrated. He was used to experiments failing on him but after checking for the hundredth time that they were perfect and it still had the odasity to fail made him angrier than anything. He was trying his best to remain calm, he must remain stylish. BUT THIS INFURIATING BEAST REFUSES TO BOW! IT'S NOT AS IF IT HAS ANY THOUGHT OF ITS OWN!

Stylish looked around him and realized he was on his knees with his hands in the air like he was begging for something. There were a few questioning glances from the other scientists but no one voiced an opinions. Stylish looked at himself over, he did look like he was in prayer. Well that's another pose in the pile.

"Um Doctor?" a voice asked.

Stylish turned around and smiled "Ah Bois, I see you have made it." he stood up and walked over to Bois.

The doctor offered a quick handshake before he grabbed Bois by the arm and began dragging him through the lab. Stylish looked like he was a kid showing his father something he found in the yard "I have something that you must see Bois! Its power, its excellence, ITS STYLE!"

"That's um, great doctor but I have to ask, Why am I here?" Bois asked.

Stylish waved the question aside "I tell you when we get to it."

Bois decided it was best to listen to the doctor and just do as he was told. The two Jaegers passed rows and rows of destroyed tables and Bois swore that the fading stains on the ground were from blood. They passed the center of the room where a broken steel container was stationed. Bois figured it was a good piece of machinery once upon a time but from the looks of it, whatever it was containing wanted out. The metal was bent in a way that it could only be made if something forced itself out of the cylinder. Pipes and tubes led into the container and Bois could read the only words on the container. Subject Fallen Angel. Bois briefly wondered who fallen angel was but then Stylish let go of his hand.

Before them was a plain of glass that was at least a foot thick. It was the only thing that separated the destroyed lab with the pure white room. The room was brightly lit and so little was in it. From what he could see there was a figure lying in a pool of blood, a water dish used for animals and piles of molding and decaying food. If the room wasn't sealed tight, there would've been maggots and flies over the food but there weren't any so the food looked like the biggest pile of leftovers Bois had ever seen. He looked over to Stylish who was looking at the figure with a mad gleam in his eyes "It's it beautiful?"

Bois took another look at the figure "It looks like a corpse."

Stylish trilled his lips and spat while waving the question off "Those wounds were only caused by today's experiments." he explained "It has endured so much more, and I haven't gotten to the interesting parts yet."

"So I assume this is why I am here? What am to do?" Bois asked.

"Well," Stylish began bringing out a clip board "From my observations the figure has a heightened healing rate, allowing for wounds even the ones you see before you to be healed almost overnight. Along with that it only seems to take the water we give it. Any food is thrown away as you can see or if force fed it is exploited rather forcefully by the subject."

"Fallen Angel?"

Stylish smiled "I'm glad you saw that, I'm very attached to the name. Anyway it only takes in the blood or meat of humans for food."

Bois paled behind his mask "So a cannibal?"

Stylish shook his head "NO! My dear Bois, no. A cannibal implies a human eating another human, that thing isn't human."

As the two talked Bois noticed that the figure seemed to be waking up. It crawled to the wall and lent itself against the wall in an attempt to steady itself. Its first attempt resulted in it falling down and hitting its shoulder. It cried in pain before righting itself. In a very human like gesture, Bois watched as it brought its legs close and hugged them with its hands almost as if it was crying.

Bois looked over to Stylish "What do you want?"

"I simply wish to wonder what fire will do to it." Stylish said bluntly "After all, who cares if we hurt a monster?" he said walking back to the lab.

Bois looked down at the figure one last time before fallowing Stylish "It looks more like a terrified young woman then a monster." he said.

**Authors Note:**

**I am such a freaking tease.**

**So, here we are again. First thing I want to say is that Wave will be the badass we all know in love soon, I'm just making him act like this because, One, he's going to live and I want his change of the story to be one of the most dynamic. Second, every conversation between him and Kurome is cute in my mind. (That will be their pairing by the way.)**

**And yes Kaneki's outlook on the world is rather dark. In fairness almost everyone in the Tokyo Ghoul universe and Akame Ga Kill universe think along the same lines. Plus everyone unintentional wants to ground in that stake of 'You pissed away your one chance at a happy life' to Kaneki huh?**

**On pairings our little brown Swordsmen is apparently going for the Sniper. In actuality it's a pretty close call between the two Killer woman. Akame was only three votes behind Mine last I checked. The poll will be open for another chapter or so, if you want to have a say vote now.**

**And yes I brought Bois' family in earlier for the simple reason of I wanted to. Some of you might say that it's not far enough in cannon for us to get that far, but this is Fanfiction! We kick out cannon and write the impossible! And as hard as I looked I couldn't find a single mention of their names so I got some ideas from friends for random names. If someone out there can find their real names, please send them to me. I looked everywhere even on the wiki and rereading the chapters where they are from and they are just called Bois' family.**

**Side note, Kimiko means Empress. And Harumi means Spring Beauty (Hope you guys like =)**

**In other news the next chapter will come out a little later than normal. I know my release schedule has been absolute crap in terms of consistency but I know I won't be able to get the next chapter out for at least a month. With Sports, School, Work, Family, I want to work on this fic at a pace that I'm comfortable with. Sorry everyone and I hope you can wait.**

**Besides, next chapter everything goes to hell. (Insert evil laugh here)**

**So if you found this, Thanks for Reading =]**


	12. Update 2: Sorry for taking so long

**You know what I hate? Things getting in the way of my writing. **

**Yes I know I should have posted the next chapter over two weeks ago but things came up that I had to deal with. So with that said I'm going to be putting the second update chapter for this fic, I really wish I didn't have to but what can you do? **

**Anyway just so you guys know the next chapter is almost done, about 80% done with the writing and then all I have to do is get it beta'd and it will be out. For your long wait you guys get the longest chapter I have ever written for this site ever, I mean its not even done and I'm already at 15K words. The next chapter will also mark the turning point for the story, you know that moment when everything hits the fan so hard that everything changes? Yeah. That's the next chapter, have fun thinking that over in your head. **

**So before I leave, two quick announcements and both of them involve the final decisions for the pairings. You people have voted and you want Tatsumi and Mine to be one of the main pairings. Its official! I'm putting it on the story page now! **

**The second is the final decision for Kaneki's pairing has finally been made! After a long conversation with my co-writer (He doesn't have an account on his site, I've been pushing but he's been adamant about staying off this site. A shame to, he's a damn good writer) and I have finally come to the conclusion of what I believe would make the better story. And that's one of the main reasons that the next chapter has been so long to come out, I quite literally had to remake most of my story notes for this fic. It was a hard choice and when I realized the implications of this choice, I had to remake the story. If this sounds bad to anyone out there, worry not. I have told multiple different writers of my choice and they agree that this route that I am going to take is the better one. **

**Since its going to be a big plot point, Kaneki's pairing will remained unrevealed until the next chapter is out. **

**And for a final word. **

**HOLY CRAP WHEN DID THIS STORY GET 400+ FALLOWERS! You guys, you guys are awesome! I know I sound like everyone else when I say that but seriously, Thank you. *Lowers head and bows* **

**This fic has grown from a fun time joke while I worked on other things to my greatest creation. And for that I will give you guys this piece of information. This fic is only halfway through part 1 of a two part story that I have planned. Yep, that's right, we're not even a fourth of the way through the story yet. Happy thoughts right?**

**The next chapter I will work my ass off to get it to you guys by the end of the month. It will be my halloween present that I'm almost positive you will love and hate. Love for the direction, hate because of _. (Not putting anything there, it helps with atmosphere I'm told)**

**So again, sorry this is taking so long and wait for the next chapter: _When it all comes Crumbling Down _**

**So if you found this, Thanks for making this my greatest story. **


	13. When it comes Crumbling Down

**Happy Halloween!**

**If you read this when it's not Halloween, um, happy something?**

**…(-_-)**

**Wow that was awkward.**

**So I'm going to start something with this chapter. I'm going to be answering reviews.**

**If you have any questions, any at all. From questions about the story, to pairings, to just inconsistencies that you guys see. Write a review and I will try my best to get to all of them. Why are none of them here? Because this chapter has enough words in it already/There aren't many questions that haven't already been answered in the story. And please try and point out things that seemed out of place or were hard to understand. It'll help me with making this story the best that I can make.**

**And speaking of good stories we've hit a mile mark with this thing:**

**430+ Fallows**

**375+ Favorites**

**100,000+ Words and we're not even halfway through the story yet! YEAH!**

**Sorry again for the wait, Anyway I'm going to get behind flame shields. Why? Because some of you people are going to hate me for this chapter so….DISCLAIMER!**

**Warning, this chapter has not been fully beta'd**

**I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill**

Esdeath drummed her fingers on the table as she looked at what was before her. No, it wasn't right to say that she looked at it. The right kind of phrase would be beaming with excitement.

She was located in her personal study that few were allowed to enter. It was easy enough to get to mind you, just take a right down the great staircase in the center building of the castle. So why were so few able to enter the room if anyone could find it? Well it wasn't that people couldn't enter, it was just that they didn't want to. For inside was the General's study. When most people hear of a study of a famous and powerful general you would expect a few standard things. Bookshelves filled with tactics and old military papers, a desk filled to the brim with new military requests that had yet to be signed. Along with a few trophies and medals and honors that have been won through countless victories that would be what you expect. If you walked into the study of Head-General Budo, that is exactly what you would find. General Esdeath on the other hand, was as different to Budo as night was to day.

Her study was still filled with the bookshelves and trophies that you would expect from someone with a reputation as famous as her's. The trophies were not metal or swords taken from defeated commanders, they were corpses. You see, in her study General Esdeath chose to study things that interested her, like how much torture a body could take before it finally gave out, how much pain someone could endure before their mind shattered like glass. Tactics and military requests were second to this pursuit. This, along with training was the only pass time for the general and any who would come in to interrupt this pastime better have a good reason.

Back to the general herself, she had just come back to the castle with Kurome. She had expected to find Tatsumi and Wave and then go out hunting with Tatsumi. What greeted her when she arrived however was Wave nervously sitting in the meeting room.

By himself.

…

All alone.

…

Without Tatsumi.

…

…

…

The punishment was enacted instantly. Esdeath had him stripped down to nothing but his boxers and had Kurome apply increasing heavy blocks on his legs and put a lit candle on his back burning his skin. She was going to continue the punishment herself but Doctor Stylish, quite literally, busted through the door with Bois in order to deliver the message she was currently reading. At first Esdeath passed off the message but Stylish seemed enthusiastic, more so than usual.

Now that she was finished Esdeath agreed that the doctor had a good reason to be happy. The information, was fantastic. He promised her that he could do it, how they had proof that it could be done. Esdeath looked away from the paper to see Stylish in one of his usual posses. She set it down and grinned "You are truly extraordinary doctor."

Stylish bowed in a manner benefiting his name "Oh thank you my dear general, it warms my heart to hear you utter those words."

Esdeath rolled her eyes but her smile never added "How long until the first batch is ready?"

Stylish got out of his pose and thought for a moment "Well, if my research were to continue unhindered, it should be out in about a half a year, maybe less."

That made Esdeath's grin disappear "What?" she demanded.

Stylish nervously fumbled with his hands "I apologize general but there are somethings that even my science cannot execrate. If I were to shorten the schedule, they wouldn't stay intact passed a month. Unless you plan to spend more than twice what you do on the army you already have creating one every month you will just have to wait."

Esdeath drummed her fingers on the table once again. This time however her digits started going into and through the wooden surface. She sighed "So let me get this straight, you have the ability to give us an indestructible weapon. But your problem is not manpower, it's not means of making it happen, but a budget?"

Stylish nodded "That and also there is one other problem."

Esdeath raised her eyebrow and waited for Stylish to continue "As much as it pains me to say it, we need more data. As if now I can only create a single variety and it has its flaws."

"Like?" Esdeath said, her voice getting an annoyed edge to it.

"Worry not, it's nothing that can't be fixed." Stylish said quickly "That is why I need more time, unless you can provide me with a another sample?"

Esdeath raised an eyebrow before glancing out the window of her study. It didn't have a nice view, only looking to the mountains through trees that blocked the view. Esdeath chose this spot not for its view on the landscape itself, more of its potential for a surprise attack on the castle.

Esdeath got up out of her chair "I believe that can be provided. Night Raid might have what we need."

As she made her way to the door one of Stylish advanced soldiers made its way into the door. It was a standard body, consisting of a well built man's torso with a feminine style mask. It held a large attache style suitcase in its hands and it presented it to the doctor. Stylish grinned "Ah, you're in luck general, something from the lab has come in early this time."

He took the case and presented it to Esdeath. She took it and while holding it up with one hand opened it with the other. She saw what was inside and she grinned "Gather the Jaegers in the Lab," Esdeath ordered "We have a war to prepare for."

**Base of Night Raid (Meeting Room) **

In a room filled with six assassins and a general level warrior, you would expect there to be some interesting conversation. But any and all attempts ended when Kaneki glared at Tatsumi. After Kaneki had destroyed a section of the wall he returned to the meeting room so that Tatsumi could explain himself. When he went to sit down Sheele moved from a two seater couch and Kaneki joined her. When he sat down Leone grinned at Sheele and Kaneki but neither of them noticed. When Kaneki asked why Tatsumi had used the hunting trip to escape from Esdeath he was met with silence. And so they now sat, unmoving while the everyone waited for the two to start talking. When it didn't come for another five minutes Mine rolled her eyes "Oh for the love of-Just say you weren't enough of a man to stay and get this over with."

"Hey!" Tatsumi screamed clenching his fist "You wouldn't have lasted three days!"

"Neither did you, you squirt!"

"Who are you calling a squirt! You're shorter than I am!"

"Hey guys calm down." Lubbock said trying to defuse the situation.

"SHUT UP!" They both screamed at him. "YOU HAVE NO PART IN THIS!"

Lubbock held up his hands in surrender and Leone snickered and poked him playfully "Sorry Lubbock, once they get going there's no way you can stop the newly weds."

"WHAT!" Tatsumi and Mine scream at Leone. Both of them would have glared an armory's worth of daggers at Leone, if their faces weren't redder then a beat.

They stares only earned Leone's amusement however "HAHAHA! Oh come on don't look at me like that. Everyone here thinks so, right Sheele?"

Sheila nodded in agreement "It's true, from how the two of you act it wouldn't be too far off to call you newly weds."

Both Mine and Tatsumi looked at her with an expression that screamed betrayal "SHEELE!" they complained.

Lubbock rubbed the back of his head "As much as it pains me to admit that I agree with Leone." he sighed "I agree with Leone, hurry up and make out already."

"LIKE HELL I WILL!"

Akame looked up from the table where she was pouring herself a glass of what appeared to be water "No comment." she muttered almost to herself.

Tatsumi and Mine both ignored her and both of them gave their full attention to Lubbock. They pointed accusing fingers at both him and one another "HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY THINK THAT I WOULD WANT TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT!?"

"Well Tatsumi seems like the type to take anything that comes his way." Tatsumi opened his mouth to rebuff that statement but Lubbock held up a hand stopping him "That isn't dripping with evil and a sadist. Mine on the other hand has been blushing over Tatsumi since he got here too it's not that sur-."

Whatever he planned to finish that sentence with, it was cut off as Mine shoved the muzzle of Pumpkin right in Lubbock's face. Orange energy formed on the tip of the muzzle "You want to repeat that?" Mine asked, her voice dripping with malice.

Lubbock put his hands straight up and moved out of the way of the gun pointed at him. Mine wasn't going to let him off that easily, as Lubbock moved Pumpkin followed its target. Lubbock started putting people in the way of the inevitable gunshot. At first he tried Leone but she just laughed and backhanded him away. With no other option available he made his way behind the couch that Sheele and Kaneki were sitting behind. When the gun aimed itself to the other side of the couch Sheele moved out of the way. Kaneki looked at the gun and he rolled his eyes. He reached behind the couch and as easily as a lioness picking up her cub, he hosted Lubbock by the back of his jacket and held him at arm's length as a shield from Pumpkin. Mine smiled and shot Kaneki a thank you glance before Pumpkin charged up again. Lubbock paled and looked back at Kaneki "Man I know we got off on the wrong foot and I've been a jerk to you. But this once man, don't let me get shot."

Kaneki put his other hand on his chin, pretending to think about it. Seeing Kaneki think made Lubbock pale even more but his savior came at that moment. Akame stood up from her seat and tapped Mine on the shoulder "Put it down Mine. And before you ask, yes, it is an order if it needs to be."

Mine humphed but she put Pumpkin behind her and Lubbock sighed in relief. He didn't sigh when Kaneki unceremoniously dropped him on the floor which he landed with a crash. Lubbock's form spiraled out on the floor and everyone started laughing at his expense "HEY!" he yelled back at everyone.

Unfortunately that only seemed to make everyone laugh even harder, but Kaneki's face remained neutral throughout everything. Sheila moved closer to him and nudged him on the shoulder. He looked at her impassively while raising an eyebrow. When everyone calmed down the serious nature of their work came back full force. Kaneki leaned forward "Tatsumi, do you have any idea how stupid it is for you to be here?"

Tatsumi nervously shrugged "I saw my chance and I took it," he admitted "But at least they don't know where we are, so they'll spend time looking for me. And we can use that time to get ahead of the Jaegers."

Kaneki shook his head "Esdeath must have had someone keeping a close eye on you. There's a big chance that you were fallowed."

Mine opened her mouth but Kaneki continued "I'm not going to say that I am free from suspicion as well. I come here more often than not and I doubt anyone wouldn't find that a little bit suspicious. But currently I'm gaining favor in the army, General Budo and the Emperor themselves went out of their way to congratulate me."

Mine rolled her eyes "Good for you." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Kaneki ignored her and continued "If I were to say, bring back a certain deserter unharmed. My favor with Esdeath might jump up even more."

Kaneki looked straight at Tatsumi "You were in the Jaegers for all of two days, so Tatsumi you should know. As of right now, if we went up against them now, we would lose even without Esdeath."

Leone crossed her arms and pouted at that statement "Look here Kaneki, we're no slouches so don't go saying that we won't win."

Kaneki leaned back on the couch to get into a more comfortable position "I'm only stating facts." he explained "Right now Wave, Kurome, and Ran are perfect counters for Akame, Tatsumi and you Leone. Their Imperial arms and the mastery they have over them makes them formidable opponents by themselves. Bois is also a problem, Rubricant is the best mid ranged Imperial Arm I have seen. True I haven't seen many but there isn't much one can do against a wall of fire."

Sheele adjusted her glasses before speaking up "Valuable points but we still hold the advantage. If we are able to separate them from Esdeath, Leone could engage Bois. As you said his long range attacks make him a problem, so we simply use Leone's animalistic fighting style to get in close and take him out."

Kaneki put a hand to his chin and nodded "True, but the numbers means nothing in a fight like this. Doctor Stylish has a literal army at his side. The side with the number advantage will sway depending if he decides to show for a fight. In a perfect world I would be able to kill him in his lab and take him out quietly. I've tried mind you but his lab is always empty, and Esdeath always said that he was working on something in the lab. If she's telling the truth in that matter, there must be some lab in the castle that I'm not aware of."

"So what if he's cooking something up in a lab," Lubbock said, personally a little miffed that the conversation was turning into a brainstorm section for the bookworms. "If we take him out all of his research goes to waste. Scientist types like him tend to keep things to themselves. So we take him out, his research stays in his lab to gather dust, and then no buddies any wiser."

"Other the complete lack of a doctor working at his station." Mine commented to herself.

Despite her whispering the comment, everyone in the room heard it clear as day. Lubbock pitched the bridge of his nose "Is it possible for you to not blow a hole in an unfinished idea?"

"Yes," Mine said sitting down next to Leone "But I don't intend to with you."

Lubbock showed Mine his favorite finger and the two of them humphed as they slouched back. Kaneki sighed at the two of them before turning to Akame "When is Najenda coming back?" he asked.

Akame shrugged "I don't know. From the messages she's sent so far she's almost done with the main army. By her last message I would say that she will arrive in a day or two at the most."

Kaneki thought for a moment, this was the best news he'd heard all day.

"So if things go smoothly we can take out both the Jaegers and Esdeath in one fell swoop?" Tatsumi guessed.

Kaneki chuckled "That's easier said than done Tatsumi. None of the Jaegers will go down without a fight and Esdeath demands a war by herself."

"That's correct," Akame agrees "But she has one fatal weakness that you have overlooked Kaneki."

Kaneki cocked an eyebrow "Oh? And what would that be?"

Akame stands and shows Kaneki Masamune "She's alive, she has a beating heart. All I need is one swing, and she will fall."

Every member of Night Raid beamed "Well when you put it like that we've got this war finished already." Leone commented.

Mine smirked "Don't steal all of the glory Akame, I have a sniper shot with her name on it."

"Don't leave me out of the fun!" Leone shouted, all but jumping to the ceiling with a feral grin on her face.

"If you can say that with that confidence, who am I to say that we can't win?" Sheila asked.

Tatsumi shot up from his seat and held Incursio's key in the air "To victory!" he screamed.

Everyone other than Kaneki put their hands in the air and repeated "To victory!"

They all smiled and laughed but Kaneki only looked at them with pity. They might have glossed over the fact but it was right there in front of them. It doesn't matter if heaven itself descended down upon the empire, no matter what happens in the next few days one thing was certain. The people laughing here will be gone, and only the graveyard will gain residence.

**Empire Capitol (Jaeger dining room)**

Wave sat alone in the dining room and the only sound coming from the room was the constant sound of metal sharpening metal. He was sitting in one of the many chairs as he sharpened a combat knife his first instructor had given him. He had said that a soldier must never be without a weapon, even if he always had Grand Chariot he always needed to be cautious. But for now, the knife had only seen the blood of danger beasts and fish that Wave had hunted and skinned. Once he was done, Wave sheathed the knife in a small place on his leg before stretching loudly in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling and he realized in horror that he was board. Really bored, really really bored. He couldn't leave the castle, part of his punishment from General Esdeath was confining him to the castle grounds for a few days. Captain Kaneki was out for the day so asking to train/talk to him was out. General Esdeath said she was with Stylish and Bois working on something important, so Wave sent a silent prayer to whoever she was torturing today. That left Kurome and Ran so his choice was clear. He got up from his seat and went out to look for Ran, the only semi normal member of the team besides himself and Captain Kaneki.

Wave walked down the corridors of the castle while he put his hands behind his head. He kept walking and noticed that the guards were congregating and talking about something. They did that every day but today they seemed to be extremely excited about something. His curiosity getting the better of him, Wave approached the group of three guards as they talked and he began to pick up the conversation "You weren't there," one of the guards said "It wasn't even a fight it was like a noble slapping sense into his whore."

"Seriously?" Another guard asked "Damn," he said laughing "I would've given half a year's pay to see that."

"Well if you're offering," the first guard said, a smile coming over his face "I'll be willing to tell it again in more detail, if you gave me that kind of incentive."

The third guard laughed "Not a chance in hell."

The third guard then noticed Wave approaching and he inspired his fellow guards into action. The three guards then stood at attention before saluting Wave "Sir!"

Wave waved them off "At ease boys."

The three guards relaxed before glancing at one another to move away. Wave noticed them starting to move "If you don't mind, what were you talking about earlier?"

The three guards raised their eyebrows at Wave "You haven't heard?"

Wave shrugged "I just got back from a hunting mission," he then cringed "And the punishment from said mission."

The three guards took the hint and all grimaced "Sorry to hear that sir."

"No worries," Wave said "So anyway, what happened?"

The three guards lit up like fireworks as they smiled at Wave. Unfortunately they all started talking at the same time and the ramblings made no sense to Wave. Wave raised a hand making the three men stop talking. Wave cringed inwardly '_Being on the end that's giving the orders is a little, weird_' he thought. Outwardly he looked over the three men "One at a time please."

Two of the guards glanced at the last in the group, he must've been the one told the two of them the story. The third man smiled when he realized he had the chance to talk "Well, about two hours ago I was walking through the corridors doing my rounds. Nothing special the nobles gossiping and the oh so subtle screams from the dungeons, you know, nothing you don't hear every day." the man started.

Wave nodded and waited for the man to continue.

"Then, me and a few other of the boys who were lucky enough to be near the front gate when it happened started to overhear something interesting." the guard said "You know about the Prime Minister's son?"

Wave shook his head "I've only been in the capitol about a week." he admitted "I've never had the pleasure of meeting the Prime Minister's son."

"His name is Shira, and trust us sir, it's no honor to meet him." The guard said.

Wave looked confused "He's a noble so is he-?"

"He's a complete and utter prick." One of the other guards said.

"Oh," Wave said in response to the blunt answer "Anyway you were saying?"

"Yeah well if you meet him, you'll know why the opinion of him stays the same no matter who you are. He's near universally hated among both the men and the nobles alike." The guard explained "He takes what he want's does what he wants when he wants, we do that too but at least we only keep it to the enemies. This guy would rape General Esdeath if he thought he could get away with it."

"I don't see that happening in any amount of time." Wave commented.

"We don't either, but do you at least you get the picture?" Wave nodded "Good. Anyway he recently returned from a training trip in the west. And when he walks through the front gate of the castle he see's Captain Kaneki walking out Bois' wife and kid. So Shira being who he is and Bois' wife being the smoking hot babe that she is, you can guess what he did next."

Wave grimaced but then a thought dawned on him "Wait, you said Captain Kaneki was with her?"

The guards smiled, like a child that was about to tell the best part of a secret "Oooohhhh yeah, and it was glorious. I didn't get there until it had started but from the guys that were there I heard this. When Shira tried to take Bois' wife and kid to whatever place he calls a bedroom the captain steps in." the guard explained "And in one punch he sends the brat back a few feet. Then, without even blinking he tells Bois' wife to leave before punching the brat again and telling him to piss off! It was the best thing I've seen in my career!" the guard laughed.

His friends laughed with him and Wave smiled to himself. So even in the face of someone as powerful and influential as the prime Minister's son, the captain didn't hesitate to teach the unjust their place. That thought gave Wave some sense of pride, if someone like that was leading him into battle, he knew he would be in good hands.

"Well if that's all I think I need to get going." Wave said.

The guards saluted him again "Have a good day sir, and you didn't hear that story from us right?"

Wave shook his head "Nope, just through the grapevine."

Wave walked away, leaving the guards to lazily go about their jobs. Wave barely got ten feet before Ran rounded the corner. He appeared to be looking for something and when he saw Wave he sighed in relief "Oh Wave, just who I was looking for."

Wave greeted the teacher via nod of the head "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Just come with me, General Esdeath has something to show us." Ran said.

Wave just nodded and began to follow Ran towards where ever they were going. They walked through the castle before they arrived at the study of the emperor. Wave was about to ask what this was about before Ran pulled a book causing a secret door to open in the bookcase. A series of unseen gears turned and the door opened to reveal a downward leading staircase. Wave's jaw dropped in awe and Ran gestured for him to follow. For what seemed like forever, the two walked down the flight of stairs. Wave started counting the steps but after he passed six hundred he stopped, how far down does this go? A mile? Wave continued to walk down the stairs following Ran until, finally, they arrived at a steel door. Ran knocked the door and it opened after the first knock. Wave and Rand stepped through and immediately they were swarmed by guards. They started patting Wave and Ran down, even going so far as to check….That place.

Wave opened his mouth to protest but they were finished before he could voice his displeasures. Once they were done Ran gave Wave an apologetic look. Wave straightened his shirt and collar, and since he was finally at their destination he took a look around the room. It was a science lab, that much was obvious from the amount of equipment lying around. There were beakers of strange liquid, chalk boards covered with diagrams and stats. Wave glanced at a few of them and narrowed his eyes when he saw one graph labeled "Pain levels."

Wave took a breath in through his nose and instantly he regretted it. The air was stale and filled with the scent of sweat, blood and Wave hoped beyond hope, that the third smell wasn't excrement. And something was burning as well. Ran gave a short chuckle "The smell isn't the best but you get used to it."

Wave nearly gagged "I highly doubt that." he said "What is this place?"

Ran gave a quick gesture around "This Wave, is the empire's most guarded secret." he said "Well, one of them at least. Follow me."

Wave raised an eyebrow but he followed regardless. As the two walked Ran began an explanation of what he was seeing "You see, about two years ago an event occurred. The anomaly appeared in the middle of the forest outside the Capitol. It was quiet the light show if the reports are to believed. When scouts were sent to investigate they discovered something laying in the crater the event caused. The creature was sedated and brought to the empire for research but there was a problem occurred. The creature proved to be far stronger and deadlier than originally predicted. After a battle that forced General Esdeath herself to personally subdue the creature. It left twenty dead and half of the castle research facilities in ruins."

Wave's jaw dropped "How powerful was this danger beast?"

Ran lifted a finger and waved the comment off "I wasn't finished Wave." he said, his tone a teacher to their student.

Wave gave an apologetic bow before shutting his mouth. "Anyway where was I?" Ran continued "Ah yes, firstly I should clarify. The creature that was taken in was not a danger beast. If one were to look at it, they wouldn't see any difference between it and a normal human." Ran put up another hand before Wave could comment "Please save all questions until after I have explained everything. Now, after the accident the creature was put into suspended animation and put here." Ran pointed to the end of the room where the broken steel cylinder was shown.

"After it was put there, the Empire nicknamed it Fallen Angel. And they have been studying it ever sense."

Wave studied the container. It had at least five inches of steel separating the inside from the out. So even after being suspended for more than a year whatever was in their had the strength to break out of that. Wave hoped they had that thing under control. Wave then noticed a glass wall and he walked up to it. He could see inside but he only got a glance at steel walls before Stylish seeming appeared out of nowhere and stopped his gaze "No no my dear boy," the doctor chided waving a finger "Not yet, we're still in the middle of taming the beast."

Wave gulped and looked between the container and the glass wall "So," he said pointing at the container "That thing is?"

Stylish put on his trademark grin "Oh yes, and I must say. It has finally calmed down! You have no idea how many ligaments I had to remove and the amount of electricity I had to torture it with until it finally allowed someone within two feet!"

Stylish sounded proud of his achievement and Wave just nervously chuckled at the doctor's statement. Wave took a glance at the glass and a flash of light appeared from behind the clear wall. It faded as soon as it came out and Stylish took it as a sign. He instantly grabbed a remote from his pocket and pressed the button "Feeding time!" he said happily.

Wave heard the sound of metal gears straining to open something and he looked across the room for the source. His eyes settled on a set of two sickly men rolling out a tray of what he assumed to be the food for Fallen Angel. The two men stood at the entrance of the door and another set of gears opened another door leading into the room. The two men looked hesitant to go in but they did, slowly. Wave lost sight of them as they went in but he did hear the gagging and then a muffled scream. A gush of blood erupted from the door and it painted the floor near the door red. Stylish sighed "Oh dear, there goes another bunch."

Stylish pressed the button on the remote again and another flash of light appeared from within the prison. Stylish then pointed to the puddle of blood on the floor "Someone clean that up." he ordered and immediately several of his advanced soldiers came in with mop buckets. They started working and Wave looked at the fading blood pile "How many people are you going to send in there?"

Stylish took a second to look back at Wave before thinking "We have a few more extra's before we have to resort to machines but that's not a concern of mine."

Wave blinked "You're joking right? The lives of your workers don't mean anything to you?"

Stylish smiled "Of course they mean something to me." he said.

Wave let out a sigh of relief "I need their body parts for future projects."

Wave's eyes narrowed in anger and he clenched his fist. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and he turned to see Ran "Wave, don't get to angry. Everyone here is a prisoner of the empire." He explained. "If they work they get to live without judgment for their crimes. I don't like it either but this place is sanctioned under the Emperor himself, even General Esdeath and Captain Kaneki using every advantage they had couldn't change how things work around here."

Wave looked at Ran and then at the now cleaned blood spot "You still don't waste lives." he said.

He brushed Ran's hand off of his shoulder and he made his way to the door "I'll feed the thing, no one else needs to get hurt."

"Wave! Wait a-." Ran starts.

"No no no." Stylish says, quickly pulling Ran back "I want to see what he makes of our little beast."

Ran clearly didn't like the idea but he said nothing as Wave turned the corner and looked through the door. The door led into a sort of tube that connected the outside to the interior of the prison. Wave looked around the tube and saw the source of the blood before. The two bodies were pinned to the side of the tube by some sort of crystal like needle. It seemed to be black and red and as Wave watched it crumbled on itself, allowing the bodies to fall limply to the ground. From what he could tell, they appeared to be running away until whatever the crystals were killed them. Wave steeled his resolve and gripped the sheath of Grand Chariot just in case. He moved forward and the tray of food that the people were bringing in was on the floor, is contents spilled out over the ground. It looked to be a bag of raw bloody meat and a bottle of water. When Wave picked up the meat the blood colored his hand. _It's like the raw fish back home when it went bad_ he mused. He then picked up the bottle of water, hard to do with only one hand for both the meat and the water but he managed.

Wave then continued down the tube and soon he was in the prison room. It was just like the glimpse he had earlier. Steel walls all around with a section of the ceiling devoted to a glass panel that reviewed the rest of the lab. Wave looked up and saw Ran and Stylish looking down on him. Seeing them look down on him from behind the glass he felt small, like a specimen waiting to be studied. He shook his head and he looked to the other end of the room, and it took all of his self control to not drop both the meat, the water or Grand Chariot. On the other end of the room Fallen Angel lay beaten and broken. Its body, no, _her _body, Wave realized was smoking as if someone had put her to the torch. She was on her knees leaning forward with her hands shackled by chains that connected to the wall behind her. All around her were the disgraced remains of what Wave guessed would be dozens of trays of food that had rotted and lay uncleaned near Fallen Angel. Now that he was close enough he could see that her wrists that were bound by the chains were smoking and burnt. Wave remembered Stylish saying something about electricity, must be a side affect from being shocked. Wave tore his eyes away from the burning flesh and back at the girl herself. She was in her early twenties, no more than a few years older than Wave himself. She had long purple hair that hung in front of her right eye. She wore the tattered remains of a blue buttoned long sleeve shirt that was torn to revealing patches of skin that were either scared or burnt. Below the shirt she wore a simple black skirt that, like the rest of her attire was badly maintained and torn. Wave would've guessed she would be an absolute beauty if she was well fed but now she was skinny and sickly pale.

As Wave approached her she stirred in her bonds and the movement made Wave flinch slightly. He had expected her to be unconscious from all of the pain she must be in. But she looked up from her position and saw Wave holding the meat and the water. Her eyes focused instantly on the meat and she began to make slow desperate movements towards Wave. Each movement made a sickening crack and snap, as if her body was tearing itself apart to get to the meat. Wave removed his grip on Grand Chariot and held out a hand "I don't know if you can understand me, but don't move." Wave said.

In hindsight, it was one of the stupidest things Wave had ever done. He was talking to something that he had heard could take on General Esdeath in a straight fight, and he had just witness it kill two men with that strange crystal in a second. Hell, he barely heard a scream when they were killed. But those thoughts took backseat to what Wave saw in front of him. When he was hearing the story from Ran, he had expected a monster of a man. Someone who radiated rage, power and animalistic killing intent. What he found was a girl, barely older than himself going through what was probably the worst hell she'd ever imagined in her worst nightmares. He had looked into her violet eyes, he saw desperation. A once strong will broken and bent to be used against her. It was painful to look upon, and even harder to imagine what it was like. The only one with eyes like that, was Captain Kaneki Wave realized. If what he was looking at turned someone's gaze into that, what had the captain gone through?

Wave dismissed the thought when, amazingly Fallen Angel stopped moving. She looked up at Wave before starting to move back to the wall. The snapping resumed and Wave put down both the water and meat and ran towards Fallen Angel. He placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly led her over to rest on the wall. She stiffed at the Wave's touch but she didn't make any move to stop him. It was as if she expected him to hurt him instead of help him, but she didn't have any strength left to fight back. As soon as she was next to the wall Wave propped her up and as soon as he made sure she wasn't going to fall, he went back for the food and water. He picked up both and just like before, Fallen Angel focused solely on the meat. Wave decided that he had denied her the food long enough and unwrapped the package and he nearly barfed when he saw the contents. Inside the bag was unmistakably a set of three hands that had been cut off from the wrist. Wave was about to throw it away but Fallen Angel lead forward to accept the hands regardless. Without warring Fallen Angels head snapped forward, grabbing the bag out of Wave's hand. Wave shot up and moved away from Fallen Angel. He hadn't expected the swift movement and he was slightly frightened. But that fear left him as he watched as Fallen Angel tore away at the hands. She had her head close to the ground and was gorging on the appendages like they were gifts from god. Soon enough there wasn't even a drop of blood on the ground. In fact, Fallen Angel went so far as to lick up the spots where the meat was to get every last drop of blood. When she was done it was like she had become a new person. Her complexion darkened ever so slightly and the sickly aura that had once surrounded her was replaced by a starved calm. She looked at Wave behind a lock of hair, her expression screaming "_What? I was hungry._"

Wave blinked a moment before he shook his head. He looked around and found that he was still carrying the bottle of water. He looked at the plastic container and slapped himself on the head "Well, since you can understand me, I'm just going to leave this here." he said putting the bottle of water next to Fallen Angel.

She looked at the bottle and then back at Wave, this time from her expression Wave guessed that she was saying "_Idiot_."

Wave raised an eyebrow before he realized that she was bound by the chains. Noticing his mistake he unscrewed the bottle and left the now open bottle next to her. Wave smiled "Sorry, that was stupid of me Angel."

He got up and started making his way to the door, trying his hardest not to look back at Fallen Angel. He was two steps from the door when something stopped him.

"Is that what they call me now?"

Wave stopped where he was. He turned around and Fallen Angel was sitting where she was "You can talk?" Wave asked.

Fallen Angel gave him another "_Idiot_." glare. _Wow, she must've practiced that a lot _Wave thought. Wave scratched the back of his head "What am I saying, of course you can. And to answer your question yes, your code name is Fallen Angel."

Fallen Angel tilted her head slightly before giving a pain filled chuckle "That's new." she said weakly.

"Well, what do people normally call you?" Wave asked.

Fallen Angel was silent. She said nothing and her head hung limply in the air so much that Wave thought she had fallen asleep.

"Fallen Angel pleas-."

"Touka."

Wave blinked "What?"

"My name is Touka." Fallen Angel, Touka said "Kirishima Touka."

"Um," Wave said, he didn't really know what to say here. Might as well go with the normal response "Nice to meet you Touka, my name is Wave."

Touka rolled her eyes, like the piece of information was completely useless. Wave did his best to ignore the eyeroll but his mind took notice anyway and once again he found himself comparing Touka's mannerisms to Kaneki. Silence reigned supreme for the next few minutes and Wave felt a trickle of sweat run down his neck. he clapped his hands together "Well it was nice meeting you," he said awkwardly, It was nice meeting someone who was being tourchered and in a prison? What the hell was he talking about?

Wave started walking away but he stopped himself before he got to the exit. He sighed "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you have to endure this, but trust me when I say I will do everything to get you out one day."

Wave was met with silence and he sighed "Well then, goodbye for no-."

"What do you care?" Touka said disgusted.

Wave turned around "Is it wrong that I feel sorry for a tortured girl?" he asked "Unless you sought to kill the people of the empire, from what I've heard if could be argued that you fought the people of the Capitol in self defense. It's normal to feel sorrow and pity for those less fortunate than yourself. Its just the human response."

Touka chuckled and Wave tilted his head slightly in question "Did I say something funny?" he asked.

"Haha," Touka laughed weakly "You think humans have my interests at heart? Give me a break." she said rolling her eyes.

Wave clenched his fist, the ungratefulness of Touka's attitude was starting to get on his nerves "Do you have a problem with people?"

Touka reared on him with a look of such pure anger that Wave flinched "Do I have a problem with people? You want to ask me that? People. _Humans_," Touka all but spat out "Are monsters. _Humans_ hunted me like a dog. _Humans_ killed the mother of a little girl just because she was different from them. _Humans_, killed my father and turned my brother into a psychopath!"

Her arms began straining against the chains so much Wave heard the metal start to bend "_Humans,_ made a monster that tortured and turned one of the kindest people I know into a broken, hollow shell of what he once was! _HUMANS RIPPED ME FROM MY HOME! THEY THROUGH ME IN A CELL LIKE AN ANIMAL! THEY BURNED ME! CUT ME APART AND THEY LAUGHED WHILE THEY DID IT! AND THAT FUCKING FALLEN ANGEL CRAP!? MY NAME IS KIRISHIMA TOUKA_, AND YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT FROM ME!_" _

The chains cracked and threatened to break but then something flashed from behind the wall where the chains were stationed. Then, an electrical current was sent through the chains, shooting Touka with god knows how much power. The flash of light was so intense that Wave had to put up a hand to block the burning in his eyes. It only lasted an instant but the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Wave blinked away the patches in his vision and when they were gone Touka was slumped down on the ground, only her hands in the air suspended by the chains. Dispute all of the pain Wave was sure she was in, Touka lifted her gaze and the hate emanating from them would stay with Wave for the rest of his life.

"I….._fucking…hate…..humans._" she said weakly before her head slumped down, the torture taking its toll forcing her to fall unconscious.

Wave only stared at her for a moment, the implications of what Touka saying ran through his head at a million miles an hour. Everyone was calling her a creature, a beast. She ate a set of hands like it was the greatest thing on the planet. And those weird crystals, and how she spoke about people like she was something different. Wave didn't want to think about it, but everything he had witnessed was telling him one thing.

Touka, wasn't human. She was something different and Wave was sure he was imagining it, but for a second, Touka's iris' turned dark black.

The sound of knuckles tapping glass brought Wave out of his thoughts. He looked up to the observation deck and saw General Esdeath. She beckoned him with a finger and he nodded in understanding. Wave quickly made his way out of the prison and out the tube and back into the lab. As soon as he got out he was quite literally pounced on by Stylish. Wave reared back "HOLY! Doctor what the hell?"

Stylish quickly waved his hands in Waves' face "Never mind that!" he screamed "What did it say!?"

Wave blinked "It?" he asked, then he remembered how everyone saw her "You mean Touka?"

Stylish slowly fell to the ground, his face one of pure ecstasy. He then giggled to himself "It spoke." he said in excitement.

Wave quickly took a step away from Stylish and went over to where General Esdeath was standing. She was looking into the cage with a mixture of curiosity and excitement. Wave stood at attention and Esdeath glanced at him before looking back into the prison "You seemed to hit a nerve somewhere on our little friend. How was the talk?"

"It was," Wave hesitated for a moment "Disturbing." he admitted "I've never see so much hate in someone, Touka can't be much older then me but-."

"Touka?" Esdeath asked.

"Her name, Kirishima Touka." Wave answered.

Esdeath put a hand to her chin "I good name." She commented "You know, Stylish has been trying to make her talk for as long as she's been here. You go in there for five minutes and you've already gotten more out of her then Stylish ever could."

Wave blinked "I ah, guess I'm good with woman?" he said awkwardly.

"No you're not. You're terrible with woman."

Wave glanced behind Esdeath to see who had said that. Kurome was sitting on one of the research tables dangling her feet while she was eating one of her candies. Next to her standing up was Bois, and next to him was Ran. All three of them were standing next to one another but Bois and Ran differed from Kurome. They were currently holding a fist to their mouths to try and stop short barks of laughter. Wave clenched his fist in rage "What do you know!? he screamed at Kurome.

Kurome pulled out her sucker she was working on and glanced at Bois and Ran "Bois, Ran."

Said men turned their attention to Kurome "Does a man who is good with woman scream at them for no reason?"

"HEY YOU!?" Wave screamed.

Ran shook his head in disappointment "No they do not. Wave displays actions that don't benefit a gentleman."

Bois nodded his head in agreement "Such behavior is unruly and rude. Woman hate it when you act in such a manner."

Kurome nodded in thanks at the two men before looking at Wave again "See? You could learn a thing or two."

"I hate all three of you," Wave grumbled through gritted teeth "So damn much right now."

Bois then couldn't take it anymore. He started laughing and soon Ran joined him and after him Kurome even delighted herself with a slight chuckle. Wave wanted to be angry a little longer but he relented to the sound of everyone's laughter and smiled at his teammates, no, at this point. His friends.

Even Esdeath grinned before getting everyone's attention via a clap. All eyes turned to her and she gestured around the room "I guess you're wondering why I called you all down here?"

Wave nodded "Very much so General. As far as I know, this is the most important rooms in the empire. So I have to ask why are we here?"

Esdeath pointed at the cage where the unconscious Touka was chained "That is the reason we are here. For you see, our dear doctor has discovered something interesting. Doctor?" Esdeath called.

Stylish, who was still next to the glass wall turned his head to look at the group. He clapped his hands together and strutted forward "Yes my dear comrades, we are here today because when I was first recruited for the Jaegers it was for three purposes."

He pointed to his gloves "The first, and most obvious, was to be the head medial operator of the Jaegers. With Perfecter, I can heal you up from anything as you all know. The second was the use of my Stylish army. With them at our side all of our targets will fall with our staggering might from both battle and numbers. The third, is the lab you see around you."

Stylish walked passed the group and gestured at a set of advanced soldiers. They bowed before running to the other end of the lab, grabbing something and then coming back. When they were finished, three of the advanced soldiers carried one silver suitcase each. Stylish pointed at the table that Kurome was sitting on and the advanced soldiers put the cases down before leaving the Jaegers alone. Stylish went up to the cases and ran his fingers along the edges "You all know the history of the Imperial Arms I assume?" he asked everyone.

Everyone nodded and Ran even provided an explanation "During the time of the first emperor, at the end of his reign he commissioned a set of weapons to be developed to protect the empire alongside carrying along his legacy for the rest of time. These weapons became the Imperial Arms, the best weapons that even with today's technology no one has even come close to duplicating."

Stylish smiled a crazy smile "Correct my dear Ran, except for that last part."

Ran raised and eyebrow and Stylish elaborated "While it is true that all Imperial Arms were created during the time of the first emperor. But the assumption that no one has created something of their equal, is a lie."

Stylish jumped to the side and with exaggerated motions he gestured at the cases "For you see!" Stylish declared "I have created weapons that put even the Imperial Arms to shame!"

Everyone, with the exception of Esdeath, shared a collective blink in confusion. Ran put a hand to his chin "So doctor, you say that you have achieved a level of accomplishment that most assume only lived in legend?"

Stylish spun around where he was "Indeed I do."

He picked up one of the cases "For you see, I have created a new breed of Imperial Arm. I have created, the Quinque!" he declared.

Wave raised an eyebrow and Bois scratched his head in confusion. Ran looked skeptical "Forgive me Doctor but when last I checked, Quinque are fictional weapons from Captain Kaneki's novel. Are you saying you found a ghoul and made a Quinque from its kagune?"

Wave raised his hand "Ok, back up." he put his hands in a t shaped symbol to emphasize his point "What are you people talking about?" he asked.

"Quinque and Kagune are weapons used by the humans and ghouls respectively in Captain Kaneki's novel _Tokyo Ghoul_." Ran explained. "Both the setting and the characters live in a world vastly different from ours," he then turned to Stylish "You can forgive my skepticism for believing something so far fetched as to think that creatures from a fictional world have come to ours."

Stylish nodded "Normally that would be correct but here we are. For you see, we have one of two Ghouls known to us in custody with use right here."

Stylish pointed at the prison and Wave's eyes widened in realization "You mean?"

Esdeath nodded "Yes Wave. That girl you talked to, Touka, is one of two ghouls in the empire."

Wave felt his sweat drop, saying that news was unsettling was an understatement. He felt his pulse quicken and his sweat was crawling down his neck. A hand clapped him on the shoulder, knocking Wave out of his thoughts. He looked up and found the concerned mask of Bois "Wave, don't worry about it. If anything we should be thanking you."

Wave blinked "Thanking me?"

Bois nodded "Yes, you're the first to talk to her. Even if she doesn't seem like it, I'm sure that she was at least a little happy to find someone to talk to."

Bois glanced over at the prison "Its, not natural what they are doing to her, and as a soldier I have no problems with it. But as a human father, I can't say that I agree with it. So that's why I'm thanking you Wave, for giving her something that could be considered human.

Wave remembered the short conversation he had with Touka and shook his head "No, she didn't enjoy talking to me in any way."

Stylish cleared his throat "If I could continue?"

"Yes sorry doctor." Bois said looking back.

Wave straightened his posture and stood silently as well.

Stylish gave a quick flare of his wrist by way of thank you before he opened one of the cases "You see, I didn't think it was possible but the ghoul in that room as a predatory organ special to it alone." Stylish explained "According to our lovely Captain's book, this organ is known as a Kagune. And like any organ, it can be extracted."

He turned around to face the Jaegers and showed off the contents of the case. It appeared to be a spear roughly the same size as Wave's Grand Chariot Lance with a silver shaft and handle. The real selling point that was clear to see was the spearhead. The head of the spear was made of a dark multi colored crystal. Instantly Wave recognized it as the same crystal that he had seen kill the men before he took the food to Touka. Stylish swung the spear around lazily before striking the ground at his feet. The crystal spear sank into the ground and kept going, completely ignoring the resistance of the ground it was cutting through. After about a foot of the spear was in the ground, Stylish ripped it out as easily as one would pick up a piece of trash. Stylish smiled at the spear "This." he said showing off the spear "Is Harvester, the spear of the angel."

Everyone looked at the spear with something akin to awe, even Kurome had stopped eating her candy to look at the weapon with interest. He then twisted the shaft of the spear and it collapsed in on itself and became an slab of metal and crystal "It's not complete yet, but General Esdeath insisted that I give everything out as soon as they are ready."

He put Harvester back into the case and closed it up "So far I only have four Quinque ready for use. The two others are what you see here."

He opened the two cases and from them produced two weapons. One was an arm guard that appeared to house a gun while the other was an shield that grew to the size of a tower shield or as small as an arm guard. Stylish handed the shield to Bois and the arm guard to Ran. Kurome looked at Stylish expectantly but he shook his head "I apologize my dear, but General Esdeath has said that you don't require an Quinque. Worry not, when this mission is over I will be able to make an infinite amount of Quinque for you to chose from."

Stylish looked at Wave and handed him Harvester's case. Wave looked between the case and Stylish "I can't take this."

Stylish put a hand to his cheek "Oh that's adorable of you, but don't worry dear Wave. This Quinque was made spastically for your use, so I'm afraid you can't give it back."

Esdeath stepped forward "That weapon is yours to use forever Wave. Take it and it will give you the power to protect the empire."

Wave blinked before looking down at the case "But, I failed my mission to keep track of Tatsumi."

Esdeath waved the apology "Despite your failure in that regard you're still a member of the Jaegers, as such I must provide the weapons necessary to insure our victory."

Wave looked at Esdeath, surprise written all over his face. Even though he failed, she still trusted him to carry out this important duty. He opens the case and quick as a flash he brings out Harvester. Se spun the crystal spear in his hands before bowing with weapon in hand "I won't let you down General."

Ran and Bois stepped up behind their comrade "Neither will we." Ran said and Bois nodded.

Esdeath smiled "Excellent. Then our newest mission begins now, we ride out to eliminate Night Raid."

"Wait we've found their hideout?" Wave asked.

Esdeath chuckled "Of course, our dear doctor tracked one of their members on their way to the base. On foot it's roughly a hour trip, if we ride out now we'll be there in half that time. So as our duty to the empire demands, we will eliminate Night Raid!"

Everyone raises their Quinque and roars a battle cry "Eliminate Night Raid!" they repeated.

"Then we leave immediately! To the stables!" Esdeath ordered.

The Jaegers bowed and began making their way towards the entrance of the lab. As they walked, Esdeath could hear the sound of them comparing weapons and Kurome even tried to take a bite of Bois watched as the Jaegers began ascending the stairs but she stopped herself from fallowing. She turned around and saw that Stylish was still looking through the glass at Fallen Angel.

"Doctor, we're leaving." Esdeath said.

Stylish waved her off without even looking at her "I'll catch up, there's something that I must do first."

Esdeath raised an eyebrow before shrugging and following her team up the stairs. Stylish looked down at his best, his greatest challenge. Everything he had done, all of the time and energy to make her talk and all it gave him was screams. Stylish felt his anger rise and he stormed down the hallway to the entrance of the prison. A few workers were in his way and he brushed them aside, making them drop whatever they were carrying. Stylish didn't care what they were working on, he needed to hear it. He quickly made his way down the tube and found Fallen Angel unconscious. Stylish fumed for a second before he brought out his remote. He pressed the button and the flash of a shining electric charge entered the room. As soon as it started Fallen Angel screamed in pain. She once again slumped her head to the ground but slowly it came back up, Fallen Angel glaring primal rage at Stylish. Stylish simply smiled at the glare "Hello my dear. How are you feeling?"

He was met with silence. Stylish's hand started to tremble with rage and he pressed the button again. A flash, a scream and the smell of burning flesh later he asked again "I asked how are you feeling?"

Fallen Angel lifted her head and her gaze remained the same but Stylish ignored it. She still wasn't talking.

He couldn't contain it anymore. Stylish rushed forward and grabbed all of Fallen Angel's hair in one hand that he could before slamming her head against the steel wall as hard as he could. When no sound came out of her Stylish slammed her head again and again "Talk, talk! Talk! SPEAK YOU BITCH SPEAK!"

He then grabbed her head with both hands and increased the rate in which he beat her against the wall. When that failed he grabbed Fallen Angel by the neck and threw her to the floor. The chains stopped her from going all the way down but Stylish continued pushing down on her neck. He ignored the sound of breaking bones and he continued to push. He kept pressing and pressing until he heard the bones in Fallen Angel's wrist finally give out. Every bone in both wrists cracks and broke all at once and she fell to the ground, with the full weight and force of Stylish crushing her throat. If Stylist's hand weren't blocking her throat she would've coughed up blood, she felt it sit and burn in her throat. Stylish didn't care and he began punching her head into the ground.

He did it once.

Twice.

Three times.

He did it again and again again until neither the doctor of the angel knew how many time he had done it anymore. When she still refused to speak Stylish reached into his coat and brought out a special scalpel. It was layered with the same crystal that he used for the Jaeger's Quinque, he kept this tiny bit for future, _exploration_.

He brought the scalpel to bare and stabbed Fallen Angel in the stomach. The hyper sharp blade cut through her skin like paper but still she couldn't scream. Stylish finally let go of her throat, only to have the sound of her screaming voice meet his ears. He took the scalpel in both hands, plunging the blade into her stomach as deep as the blade could go. With each cut and each stab he screamed "TALK!"

Another stab.

"SPEAK!"

Another pool of blood coming from Angel's mouth.

"**WHY WON'T YOU SPEAK FOR ME!?**"

Stylish waited but only the lifeless eyes of Fallen Angel looked up to him. He quickly checked her pulse and found a heartbeat. Stylish then activated Perfecter and for five minutes the sound of threads being spun filled the room. After he was done Stylish got up off Fallen Angel who's horrible stomach wounds were barely closed by the thread. Stylish looked down in disgust "You pathetic piece of shit." he said "If it weren't for the fact that there's only one of you here, you would be dead."

He then straightened his tie and started walking out of the room "Well I best get going," he told no one in particular "If I'm late to the party what will the lovely General Esdeath and excellent Captain Kaneki think of me?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Stylish thought he saw Fallen Angel react to something but he ignored it. He exited the prison and looked around. Stylish pointed to a random worker "You there! Wake my advanced soldiers!"

One of the guards raised a hand and the action made the doctor even more enraged. "How many? ALL OF THEM!" Stylish screamed.

Instantly the room burst into life as the workers went to work on the doctor's wish. The workers scampered around to get to the activating rooms for all of the advanced warriors. Stylish looked on in disgust but he held his tongue and started walking to the stairs. Right before he got to the stairs he heard a slight hint of a chuckle. Stylish turned to the source, which was a man in a lab coat much like Stylish's own but his face was covered by a clown mask. It looked like one would expect, huge colorful eyes and a deranged exaggerated smile. But the teeth were colored black and red "What's so funny?" Stylish asked.

"You're being to hasty Stylish," the man said "I gave you the notes to complete your research but still you act like a child."

Stylish's eyes twitched in annoyance "I didn't need your help in this matter."

The man behind the mask hummed as if he was skeptical about that "Really? After five different failures? You nearly broke her beyond repair a few times there."

Stylish gritted his teeth and glared at the man but in response to the glare he turned around and waved the doctor off "Whatever you want to do I have a report to make. Next time you have our information, use it better."

Stylish spat at the man before straightening his tie again and walking up the stairs.

So, as the room raged to fulfill a wish of power and war. There was one who was doing nothing. For she couldn't move through the revolution she had only just witnessed.

In her prison, lying in her own blood Touka repeated those words over and over in her head "_Captain Kaneki. Captain Kaneki. Captain Kaneki. Kaneki._"

She remembered it perfectly, it was the memory that never left her.

_Touka stood in front of the remains of Anteiku. The battle and fire had reduced the once great safe heaven to a pile of metal and scrap. She was wearing a teal colored hoodie that covered her face. Mr. Yomo was standing next to her, looking between the cafe and her face. He had said "Let's leave." _

_He had started walking but Touka couldn't move. Everything was coming back to her and as hard as she tried, the tears came "He, he got lost coming back here. That's why he lost his place to return to. I…I have faith in him, one day he'll return to Anteiku._"

Touch felt the tears falling down her face as she felt the darkness claim her "_This…Is ….where…you went? You…stupid…idiot_."

She closed her eyes, but it did nothing for the tears "_You're still….alive."_

…

…

…

"…_please….don't….leave….me….again._"

**Base of Night Raid**

Kaneki spat out blood as he looked at himself through the broken shard of a mirror. All around him shattered piece of the mirror were strone around the room.

After the talk with the members of Night Raid, Kaneki decided it was time to head back to the Capitol. Esdeath would no doubt was back and he needed to learn anything knew from the general. Tatsumi had also begged him to keep Esdeath occupied trying to find him. Lead her on a false trail, give a few wrong decisions. Essentially, keep her away from the base during her searchings. Kaneki doubted his ability to pull something like that but he accepted Tatsumi's request, on the condition that he never go against his plans again. He hadn't said it in an evil or threatening manner but Tatsumi's sweat had dropped when he named his condition, apparently Kaneki was just that scary to him now.

He said his goodbyes to the members and then headed out. As soon as he left the room his right arm flared in pain. It was soft at first, but it quickly grew into an inferno of agony. Kaneki was forced to use his left hand to restrain his right from spazzing out on him, but that only made the pain worse. Slowly but surely he made his way through the base until he found a staircase leading down. The pain was so great that Kaneki fell down the stairs, he ignored the pain of the fall and started to crawl forwards. It seemed that he found himself in a storage room, cargo boxes were neatly stacked all around Kaneki. Kaneki dragged himself over to the wall, when he was propped against the wall he let out a blood curdling scream of pain.

His mind flashed back three years ago, when his Kagune mutated causing him to attack everything. The pain he was feeling was just like them, but only worse. Kaneki clawed at his arm, his fingers digging into his skin and drawing blood. As soon as the blood began to spread atop his arm the pain stopped to be replaced by mad pleasure. He only had a few drops of blood on his arm but the feeling was like a million heavens.

"_Would it feel better if there was more blood?_" he thought.

In response to the question hundreds of voice shouted out their answer "_**Yes, that's what we need. More blood, more more moremoremoremoremor-!**__"_

Kaneki smashed his left fist into his head in a vain attempt to stop the voices "Shut up!" he ordered.

In response to his order, the voices came back. This time stronger than ever. They screamed for blood, for him to eat to just, _give, __**in.**_

Kaneki bit his lip, forcing blood down his throat. It was an old trick he had come up with when his ghoul half just became unbearable to ignore. It would keep the edge off his hunger until he go back to Anteiku. Once he was there it was a simple matter to eat or drink one of the many pre made 'sugar' cubes he had lying around. He hoped that this would calm the pain just like it did with his ghoul side, it didn't.

It only made the drive increase. If the hunger was a scream before, it now rang out with the force of a battle cry. Like giving blood to a pack of wolves, they demanded more, more, more MO-

"SHUT UP!" Kaneki screamed.

"Well excuse us for voicing our opinions_._"

Kaneki head snapped to the sound of the voice, his instincts forcing his body to shoot up from the ground and into a battle stance. He looked around and lying face up on one of the larger boxes in the room was Kaneki Other. He was dressed in the black battle suit but this time his hair was different. Other than the normal black or white, it was crimson red "I know you've gotten a little," Kaneki Other twirled a finger in a small circle around his head, the classic signal for crazy "But everyone gets to speak their mind when they want to. And you've got a lot of voice in your head now, make some room would you."

Kaneki narrowed his eyes and Kaneki Other sighed "You know I'm only in your head right?" he asked sitting up, his twin jet black eyes staring at Kaneki "Your little 'fear me' look doesn't work on me."

Kaneki Other put a hand to his chin, thinking "Actually, I'm surprised how long you've managed to keep that up. It works on everyone else pretty well, so that gets rid of some of the work."

Kaneki Other lazily wrote in the air "Note to self: Thank Ken Kaneki for making things easier when we take over."

Kaneki Other looked at his counterpart "You'll remember that right?"

Kaneki's gaze remained neutral, but his left hand clenched into a fist "What do you mean, when we take over?"

Kaneki Other dropped his hand from the air and smiled at Kaneki "Take a guess. Use that little head of yours." he taunted.

"You're an illusion." Kaneki stated "A manifestation of my past regrets. A reminder that if I don't keep control, you'll be what I become. A hollow broken shell that cares nothing for life."

Kaneki Other nodded "A nice guess but you only needed to point at that nice arm of yours."

Kaneki looked down at the Ketsueki Shinigami, he raised an eyebrow "So you are the price for using the Ketsueki Shinigami's power."

His guess earned a clap of congratulations "YES! And no."

The counterpart jumped off his box and walked around the room "You know, you've been such a nice host that I think you deserve this little tidbit."

"Very generous of you."

Kaneki Other waved a finger at his counterpart "No no. This isn't a kindness, I'm doing this because it's going to be fun to see the gears turning in your head."

He flashed a blood soaked grin before continuing "Anyway, you know that in rare cases, Imperial Arms can be made with the core still intact. This means that, for a lack of a better term, the soul of the danger beast used to make it is still alive and conscious. There aren't many Imperial Arms like this, off the top of your head you only know about Incurio." Kaneki Other smiled again "And us."

"Us?" Kaneki asked.

"Yes us," Kaneki Other said jumping atop another box "I'll get to that later but for now, please leave all questions until after the professor has given all needed information."

He smiled, and like the times before it, Kaneki didn't smile back "I will make you laugh one of these days." Kaneki Other said defiantly. he paused for a moment "Where was I?"

"Us." Kaneki said.

Kaneki Other clapped his hands again "OH YES US!"

Kaneki Other then raised his right arm and it started turning slowly to blood. The Blood detached from the body and floated in front of him "I know you already know the basic story of the Imperial Arms. The first emperor got a identity crisis so bad he said 'Hey, let's go fuck up the wildlife to make badass over powered weapons! Won't that be fun?"

"I doubt that was the reasoning." Kaneki deadpanned.

Kaneki Other rolled his eyes "No shit sherlock. Anyway, after the imperial arms were made the cores were destroyed except for a select few that had either the vitality to live, evolved to continuing living, or were purposely made with their cores intact. The Ketsueki Shinigami, made from the blood of a parasite, is one that had the vitality to live. No one knows it's original name, hell even we don't even remember, we've been the Ketsueki Shinigami too long. It was found in the alone in the jungle, seriously alone. Nothing, literally no animals for miles. Do you know why?"

Kaneki didn't say anything he just wanted to get to the point of this "It was alone because everything, from the insects to the danger beast to the natives, feared its existence. Not for its strength, but because how it lived. On the outside it looked like every other beatle out there. Red exoskeleton with a single mandible like mouthpiece for sucking the sap out of flowers. Except it didn't hunt flowers, it hunted everything with blood. The insect would find its prey and inject every ounce of blood it had into the host. The slowly the blood from the insect took over the blood of the host, until the inevitable happened. The host decayed, not its body but mentality it was broken until it attacked anything that came close. Upon going berserk, every other member of the population would notice and then systematically kill the infected host. Obviously one wolf can't kill the whole pack so once the host is dead they leave it and move on, but they never bother destroying it down to the blood. The insect uses its incredible powers to live inside of the blood of the host, so when it dies, it makes a new body from the host's blood. Hardening it becoming a nice set of armor, kind of like that thing you call the Centipede."

Kaneki flinched making his counterpart smile his sadistic grin "This is normally the part where I say something like 'It moves on from host to host to live'. That's true but it does it with a little catch. As an insect, it had no ability to learn outside what natural instinct could give it."

As he talked, the blood floating in front of Kaneki Other morphed to match what he was saying. First showing the insect, before changing to the host and showing the host going insane and dying.

"But since it lived in the blood of everything it infected, and it had a near infinite lifespan as long as it kept feeding, it had no real survival instincts other than eat and be reborn. So, how do you learn when all you do is take over the brains of everything and everything?" He asked.

"You take the experiences of the host while they resist the infection." Kaneki said.

Kaneki Other clapped "THAT'S RIGHT! HE CAN BE TOUGHT!"

"But that means," Kaneki started "You take in information from every animal and human from before you were turned into an Imperial Arm."

Kaneki Other's smile dropped in disappointment "Why would we stop learning after becoming an Imperial Arm? My dear Kaneki, we've never stopped learning, and those that we have infected are still here."

"What are you talking about?" Kaneki asked, fear growing in the pit of his stomach.

Kaneki Other chuckled "Oh I think you know, you told us all to shut up just a few minutes ago."

Kaneki's eyes widened in realization. The screams, they were the voices of everything that the Ketsueki Shinigami had ever infected. No wonder it could never be used by anyone with a normal mentality, these voices would drive them insane in an instant. Kaneki placed a hand over his eye, fighting a growing pain. Kaneki Other smiled "Oh yes, we're all here, but that didn't go unnoticed of course. That idiot that called himself emperor put a seal on us. We couldn't infect everyone, only those that he deemed could handle our madness. When ever anyone even touched our vail, we just couldn't help ourselves, we screamed so loud and so strong that they couldn't take it."

"Lubbock." Kaneki said.

Now his attack of Night Raid when he touched the vail made sense.

Kaneki Other nodded "Yeah, that guy wasn't worth our time. I mean, he barely got through the screaming. We didn't even get to showing him, well, him." Kaneki Other then looked down at Kaneki. Kaneki recognized the look, Shuu wore it when he first met him all those years back at Anteiku.

"You on the other hand Kaneki, are exquisite. Your ears were already deff to the the screaming even before we got to you. Your suffering, your pain, we've never felt more at home. Your blood, will make us a beautiful body."

"Then I will do my best to disappoint you." Kaneki growled out "You may be in my head but I know exactly how to get rid of things like you."

Kaneki Other raised a distrusting eyebrow "Really now? _My little bookworm_? **Little pig little pig let me come in**?"

Kaneki Other busted out laughing the craziest laugh that Kaneki had ever heard. After he stopped Kaneki Other started fading into blood mist "We don't have to do anything to you Kaneki. You're going to brake yourself faster than we ever could. You can have your fun being the false hero and friend. We'll be here, watching, not doing anything." he said disappearing.

Kaneki waited for a few seconds to see if he would return. When he didn't he let out a sigh of relief, right before Kaneki Other appeared right in front of him covered in the armor of the Centipede. Kaneki jumped back in surprise but the Centipede grabbed his neck and hoisted him off the air "But if we ever feel that you're standing on the edge, it will be us that pushes you over. And when you make that fall, nothing will be able to bring you back. It'll be like gravity, all you need is a little push."

He disappeared again, causing Kaneki to drop to the floor. It felt as if he had only fallen face first into the ground but as soon as he got up, the pain started again. Kaneki bite down hard on the inside of his cheek, forcing as much blood into his mouth that he could, but it made the pain increase. His vision got hazy as he fought desperately just to keep his eyes open "_You…said..you..wouldn't…do… said you would just watch."_

"_Yes we did, but we lie. A lot, hahahahahahahahaha! Keep screaming, it'll help to tune you to our chorus!" _

"SHUT UP!"

Kaneki slammed his fist into the ground creating a small crater in the ground next to him. He heard the sound of faint laughing in the back of his head and the sound infuriated him. He punched the floor again, and again, and again. But with each punch the laugh just seemed to get louder, and louder, and louder _it keeps getting LOUDER! _

He screamed out in pain, and the roar that came out of Kaneki's desperation wasn't human, it wasn't ghoul.

Honestly, he didn't know what it could be, but knew what was making him like that, and that just angered him more.

Kaneki's eyes widened and he cupped his face with both of his hands, making his fingernails dig into the skin of his scalp. He had to keep himself calm, if the screams tore him apart we would lose control in the middle of the Night Raid Base. If that happened, it wasn't hard to figure out what would happen.

"_Deep breathes, control yourself_." Kaneki told himself.

"**Oh yes motivational talk, that's going to help a lot.**"

Kaneki felt his teeth grind together in frustration and before he could stop himself his Kagune flared to life. A single tail sprouted from his back "I said shut up!" Kaneki screamed.

His Kagune responded to his wish of anger and slammed down crushing a crate of supplies next to him. He heard the sound of laughing in the back of his head "**Yes, a little more**."

"SHUT UP!"

Kaneki's kagune beat the ground again, creating a crater where the crates once where. The laughter continued and Kaneki forced his thumb down on his forefinger making a loud snapping sound fill the air around him. Kaneki was about to start beating his head against the wall when the laughter suddenly stopped.

Kaneki breathed a sigh of relief, finally that was over. Now he'd better get ba-"Kaneki?"

Kaneki's head snapped around and he saw Sheele standing at the foot of the stairs. She was staring at something next to Kaneki and Kaneki's eyes widened as he realized that his Kagune was still active. Kaneki's gaze fell to the ground and he started chuckling "Why are you here Sheele?"

She didn't respond for a few seconds "We heard something crash against the ground. I went to check while everyone else prepared for a counter attack. You had left so we thought…" her voice trailed off.

Kaneki smiled "Not a bad plan, a little rudimentary considering who you're fighting."

Kaneki looked up at Sheele and he let his ghoul eye transform into its red and jet black color. In response to the transformation his hair slowly started losing its dyed black color returning to white. Behind him his Kagune circled around him before pointing its tip at Sheele "Do you know what I am?"

Sheele nodded once.

"Are you scared?"

Sheele didn't move, Kaneki had kept this part of him a secret from everyone he had met. If he intended to keep it a secret, you didn't have to be a genius to figure out what needed to be done. But, Sheele just couldn't find the hate she thought she should be feeling. It was like Lubbock had said, he was a monster, a ghoul. He would kill every single member of Night Raid, why? Because it was just who he was. But that didn't change the fact that he'd done nothing of the sort since he met Night Raid. He stopped his ghoul nature from going rampage after he ripped his hand apart to fight Murasame's curse. He saved Sheele and Mine from that girl, without him one or both of them would have died there.

And, the night Bulat died.

Sheele met Kaneki's murderous gaze with her own of pure determination "No, I'm not scared."

The response made Kaneki laugh "Well, you really should be."

Then, his kagune shot forward.

**Fifteen Miles Away from the Base of Night Raid**

Wave stared straight forward as he road his horse. In his right hand was Harvester's case and in his left he held the reigns of the horse. He and the other Jaegers were covering a lot of ground in the short amount of time since they started. Although they were making good time and everyone was ready and waiting Wave felt uneasy. It felt as if they were going into something they didn't know everything about, and that something was going to happen. It might have been that Wave didn't know, what he did know is that his gut was telling him something big was going to happen. He focused his mind on the case in his hand. Stylish had told him that all that he needed to do was press the trigger underneath the handle of the case and Harvester would spring out for him to use. He had tried it out a couple times on the trip down, just to get a feel for the weapon. The first time he dropped it, forcing him to stop his horse and go back. When he got back he was immediately belittled by Kurome, but thankfully Ran came to his defense stating that he was the only one of the three who needed to practice this method. Ran and Bois were also testing their new armaments on the way, Bois discovered that he could shape his shield however he wished. It could be a large sheet or a small club but the density and durability weakened depending on how large it got. Ran on the other hand was shooting his Harvester at tree's with pinpoint accuracy. He looked to be enjoying the new device but he mumbled something about wishing for more time. A silence then fell over the Jaegers and after a while Wave felt awkward in the quiet.

General Esdeath had remained silent the talking, her focus unwavering from the road in front of her. She didn't seem like the type to start chatting up when that focused so Wave left her alone. Then a thought occurred to Wave and he looked around for Bois. When he found him he road up alongside him raised his case in a offhanded greeting "Bois."

The pyro user turned his masked face to Wave "Do you need something Wave?"

Wave shook his head "It's nothing really but I just wanted to tell you before I forgot. I heard from one of the guards that Captain Kaneki protected your wife and daughter from the minister's son while he was escorting them out. They said that he didn't even flinch as he punched him, all the Captain carried about was to get your wife and child away from the place safely."

Bois face lit up "The Captain did that for them!? That's amazing!"

Wave nodded in agreement "Yeah, Captain Kaneki is swiftly becoming one of the best men that I've had the pleasure of working under."

"You know Wave," Bois said "I'm starting to think that way as well. This puts me at ease, I'll have to thank the captain when if we finish this mission."

Wave raised an eyebrow 'What do you mean if?"

Bois waved his head side to side trying to come up with an answer "Well you see. We're going up against the Capitals strongest criminals, Night Raid. I'm just not confident to say that I can make it out alive."

Wave's jaw dropped "You can't think like that Bois! You have a family to go back to! So I swear, you'll make it out of this. For their sake, besides I fought one of the members of Night Raid already."

"Oh?" Bois asked "When was this?"

Wave opened his mouth to explain but then he remembered the circumstances behind the meeting. He scratched his head sheepishly "After I ah, lost Tatsumi, I ran into one of them. He didn't fight back but I felt like he was at the same skill level as me. In a straight fight, I don't know who would win but we have every advantage here Bois. All of us are here, and we have General Esdeath on our side, there's no way we can lose."

Wave couldn't see behind his mask, but he guessed that Bois was smiling "Thank you Wave."

Wave smiled back "What are friends for?"

Bois blinked "I'm your friend?"

Wave rolled his eyes "Of course you're my friend Bois! We've been on three missions together, we've eaten, drank, and celebrated victories together. Sure we've only known one another for a short time, but that doesn't mean anything. In the navy, kind of things we've shared makes us friends."

Bois looked away but it was clear that he had a huge smile behind his mask "Thanks Wave."

"Don't mention it." Wave said getting back into formation.

For the next few minutes the Jaegers rode in silence, each of them preparing for what might come to pass soon. As they rode Wave noticed that Ran hadn't reacted to anything that had been said from the others around the group. He looked to be concentrating on something and it looked to be a painful thought. Wave, worried for his friend rode his horse next to him

"Ran." Wave said, getting Ran's attention.

Ran looked away from staring ahead, his concentration broken "Oh Wave what is it?"

Wave narrowed his eyes slightly "You look like you're dealing with some painful thoughts. I was just coming to ask what was wrong?"

Ran's smile disappeared "I was just." he stops himself for a second, Wave could tell he was deciding whether or not to tell him "It doesn't add up, it's too coincidental."

Wave raised an eyebrow "I don't follow."

Ran nodded "Because I didn't explain. This is what I'm thinking, it's just that it adds up too well."

"Ran," Wave said "Explanation please?"

Ran shook his head "Right sorry. You remember what I said about the quinque back when doctor stylish first gave them to us?"

Wave nodded "Yeah, you said they were named after something from the captain's book."

"Exactly!" Ran exclaimed "A fictional weapon, made from a fictional creature, living in a fictional world. Yet here we are, riding out to battle with those fictional weapons in our arms right after you talked to something that was only recently fiction itself."

Wave's eyes narrowed again "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that it shouldn't be possible." Ran said "Not for these weapons and ghouls to exist, but for the captain to know about it. General Esdeath told me that they fought with Fallen Angel-."

"Touka." Wave corrected.

Ran nodded "Yes I'll get to that as well. She said that she fought with Touka almost two years ago. I checked with the dates soon after I was told, do you know what happened one week before the incident with Touka?"

Wave shook his head "Captain Kaneki published his debut novel _Tokyo Ghoul_." Ran said "So, you tell me if this doesn't sound a little coincidental to you. Captain Kaneki just happens to release a book perfectly detailing everything about this new species that no one has ever seen before in the history of the empire. From the name of the predatory organ, to the classification of the ghoul, and even so far as to name Fallen Angel perfectly. Touka, Wave, is the name of the main heroine in _Tokyo Ghoul._ If that information was so closely guarded, how did Captain Kaneki know absolutely everything there was to know about her? There was no way General Esdeath would give up the information if asked, so how did he get it? Unless of course, he had first hand experience. And even the story of his romantic life fists perfectly as well. Rize and Touka, the two woman that the main character of Haise Sasaki felt feelings for in _Tokyo Ghoul._"

Wave's jaw dropped "Are you implying that Captain Kaneki had taken a story from a criminal before hand?"

Ran shook his head "I'm implying that obvious Wave. Touka came from a different world, Kaneki probably came from her world as well."

Wave's eyes widened as the information slowly sank in "That's impossible! Captain Kaneki can't be from a fictional world! Or a parallel dimension or whatever!"

Ran raised an eyebrow "Do you really think that Wave?"

Ran's thought filled expression returned as he gazed ahead of him "I know you admire him, in fact you'll be hard pressed to find anyone in the army that doesn't look up to him in some way. A general level fighter, a successful author, and a level headed tactician. All of these are amazing qualities in any man, but you need to take a step back and think about something. The empire has no records of him before three years ago when he fought General Esdeath to a stand still. Before then, nothing. Literally nothing. No family, no friends, not even a birthday and even his first appearance is him running into and surviving a duel with General Esdeath. Wave, you know as well as I you have to have some serious training or battle experience to even last two seconds against the general. But Kaneki? No. He has nothing, he just simply appeared and fought her on equal terms. How many people can train someone to that height for someone so young? Off the top of my head only Budo could accomplish something like that, even if Kaneki is a naturally gifted fighter. Unless you lived a life full of battle and war could you even come close to that level of power."

Ran glanced back at Wave "If you have counter evidence, please share it."

Wave felt his jaw tremble and his hands were shaking so bad that he thought he might let go of both of them. He racked his brain for a way to counter Ran's argument, but to his growing horror he couldn't find anything. All he knew about Captain Kaneki was what he read in the reports, which were exactly like Ran said they were. Kaneki had just appeared three years ago in the capitol square. Wave felt fear crawl its way into his mind and he visibly shook.

"H-he's not from a different dimension, because, because."

Ran sighed "I'm so sorry for planting the seed of doubt in your mind Wave. But while you look at one fact, it is my duty as teacher to see all other facts as they are present. Everything I just said could be true, or it could just be the ramblings of an over imaginative soldier wanting to make a good story. But for now Wave, put it out of your mind. If you hesitate for a second against Night Raid, you could die. Remember General Esdeath's first greeting for us. She instructed us to always keep an eye open, to leave no openings. You need to become the warrior we know you are Wave, if only for an hour."

"He's right Wave," Esdeath called from the front, apparently she heard everything despite the wind of their speed "We are about to eliminate the greatest criminals in the entire history of the empire. I will personally answer every question you have about Captain Kaneki when we finish this mission, you could even ask for it himself. But for now stay on task, that's an order."

Wave hesitated for a moment, thoughts were going through his head at rapid fire. But there would be time to deal with them later. He hardened his resolve and focused his gaze ahead of him "Yes General!"

Esdeath smiled her own feral grin before leading the Jaegers along. Soon, they arrived at a clearing in the woods overlooking a mountain side. There, carved into the rock was a huge base of operations that everyone knew must belong to Night Raid. The Jaegers dismounted and stood on the overpass looking down at the base. Ran, Wave and Bois each took a spot where they could all see the entirety of the base on the edge of the clearing. Ran put a thoughtful hand to his chin "Built into the rock in such as way that you couldn't see it unless you approach it from the side? This allows your base to be nigh undetectable by flying scouts and gives you the ability to be close to your targets without them knowing. I have to say, it's not half bad."

Esdeath nodded "Najenda probably thought it up. She liked using the simple ways to outsmart people."

Wave looked down at the base and with a flick of his wrist he unlocked Harvester from its case. The crystal edge spear gleamed in the sunlight "When do we attack?" Wave asked Esdeath.

Esdeath looked around at all of the Jaegers. Bois hefted Rubicant and his shield, Ran's wings slowly formed themselves, and Kurome popped another piece of candy into her mouth. She grinned "We attack when we get the signal."

Wave raised an eyebrow "What signal?"

As soon as he finished asking something sprinted out from the forest. Everyone except Esdeath reacted instantly, pointing their weapons at the assailant. But when they saw what it was they relaxed, it was just one of Doctor Stylish's advanced soldiers. It held a letter in its hand and Esdeath took the letter and sliced it open with her finger nails. She quickly read through the contents and as soon as she was done, she froze the letter and shattered it with her hand. Esdeath walked forward and unsheathed her repairer, but like Wave's Harvester its sharp point was made out of the Kagune crystal. She pointed it in the air and a chuck of ice the size of the average house was made in an instant. Esdeath flicked her wrist and it shot out like a bullet at the Night Raid Base. The ice impacted with the side of the mountain and with a defining crash caused the front entrances to close from the falling rocks. Esdeath smiled at her work before glancing at the Jaegers "Begin Operation! Let no criminal escape that base alive!"

**The Base of Night Raid (The basement-Five minutes before the ice struck)**

Sheele held her gaze as the tip of Kaneki's kagune hovered a year inch before her eye. The two killers stood in silence for a moment before Kaneki chuckled "Not even a flinch, I don't know if that's impressive or stupid."

He cracked his finger and his kagune retracted into him, fading into RC cells and mist. Kaneki shook his head "You're more of an airhead then I thought Sheele." he said.

He looked at her, his grey human eye and his red and black ghoul eye holding no mercy. Under his gaze Sheele felt the sensation of fear. She had fought danger beasts and assassin's of the empire, but they could be explained. Kaneki, the ghoul standing in front of her, how could he be explained? He was a beast, a devil something that this world only knew from the fantasy fiction of an author. And that author was standing right there, masquerading as the monster he had created. Or maybe he was standing there, trying to be the human that he wanted to be. So when his gaze forced it's way into her eyes, she felt fear. A fear so deep and primal that no matter the person and no matter the experience, they would shake. But for some reason, Sheele found herself in a sense of calm, as if she had just figured out the answer to a question that was bothering her. And that answer, wasn't as bad as she might have feared.

Suddenly Kaneki's body convulsed and he doubled over in pain. He clenched his arm and fell to the floor, Sheele gasped slightly before rushing toward him. As she got closer Kaneki shot her another murderous glare "_GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!_" he screamed.

To emphasize his point, a single kagune tail sprouted from his back and slashed at Sheele. It didn't come close, but it drew a line in the ground right before Sheele's feet forcing her to come to a stop. Kaneki slowly crawled to a corner in the room and it looked like he was about to curl into a ball how much pain was on his face. He turned his back and to stop a scream he bit down on his hand, nearly cutting through the entire appendage. He clawed at his head and his arm, doing anything, anything to shut out the screaming. Sheele just stood there and watched. A minute passed, two and Kaneki glanced behind him "If you don't want to die you need to leave now."

Sheele shook her head "I'm not leaving a comrade in pain."

Kaneki blinked in confusion before his brain processed what was just said. When it did however, he couldn't stop himself from laughing like a madman.

"A comrade in pain? Y-you actually think I'm your comrade? Oh that's rich!" Kaneki laughed again and then, like it was never there he stopped.

"Wake up Sheele, I'm a ghoul, a monster living in the skin of a man. How can I be your comrade? Tatsumi is terrified of me, Mine and Lubbock will never trust me and Najenda has god knows how many plans to take me out if I become a liability. And you? You're a big enough idiot to see the dangers of being five feet from me."

Sheele didn't say anything in response and when the silence began to drag on Kaneki growled "_Unless you want me to eat you, GET OUT OF HERE!_"

Sheele didn't move "_DID YOU HEAR ME!? GET OUT OF HERE! RUN!" _

Again, she didn't move "_GO AWAY!" _

And yet again she didn't move. At this point Kaneki felt the last of his strength slip away and a scent passed through his nose. It was the scent of meat, that was just waiting to be eaten. Kaneki's pained face turned into a cruel smile "Well if you won't leave, I'LL JUST HAVE TO DIG IN!"

Kaneki snapped his head around, his mouth moistening for the meal to come. Something hit the ground, something liquid fell to the ground as well but Kaneki didn't care, there was a meal to be had. He expected the open air of the basement to flow crossed his skin as he charged. Instead, he found himself next to the warm flesh of something. Kaneki blinked out the haziness in his eyes and tried to see what was going on. He was on his knees with his two of his kagune out behind him. And holding him close, also on her knees, was Sheele. The air headed assassin was resting Kaneki's head comfortingly on her shoulder and despite the blood, she wasn't shaking.

Kaneki closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the warmth "What are you doing?"

Sheele's hug tightened "Repaying your kindness. You held me like this, when I was broken. So I'm going to hold you until you get better."

Kaneki tried to chuckle like he did before, but he something stopped him "You can't heal what happened to me with a hug."

"But it still helps doesn't it?"

Kaneki wanted to say 'No it doesn't get off of me', but he just couldn't. When was the last time someone cared for him enough to do this? His mom? Kaneki didn't know, and right now he didn't care. The two of them sat there, saying nothing and doing nothing but enjoying the presence of one another "I could kill you in an instant." Kaneki said after a moment of silence "I could lose control and eat you at any time."

Sheele shook her head "No, no you won't."

Kaneki almost snorted "What makes you so sure?"

Sheele glanced down at Kaneki's injured hand "When you charged at me you stopped your own attack with your arm. It looked like you were ripping your body apart but even through that, you still didn't hurt me."

"That could change."

Kaneki felt Sheele shake her head up and down in slow movements "I know, but I trust you."

I trust you. Those three words hit Kaneki like a truck and he felt his right eye began to water. She trusted him? Even though she knew what he was? No, she couldn't have no one would trust a ghoul only another ghoul would even think of doing something like that. Then, Kaneki's mind flashed to his last moments in the sewers of Tokyo. He was in so much pain, he needed to eat, he needed to kill. And then, impossibly, Hide came up to him with his kind smile.

"_I already know man, but who cares?! Let's just go home already_." he had said.

That was the last time he had ever seen him, or maybe even ever will.

Kaneki slowly pulled up his arms and returned Sheele's embrace with his own. Sheele smiled softly and she put her head next to Kaneki. Kaneki felt something at that moment. It wasn't love, but he was sure it might become that if he allowed it to grow. It was a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time. He was sure he was just imagining it, but for an instant he thought he felt it.

He felt hope.

"Sheele, than-."

Both killers in the basement, as well as everyone in the base felt a shake as if they were hit by an earthquake. Sheele was about to ask what was happening when the ceiling collapsed atop of them. Sheila's eyes widened as the stone came down, what more could she do? No human was fast enough to react out of pure surprise to get out of the way of a few tons of rock. Luckily for her, she was with someone who wasn't human. Kaneki's advanced senses had detected the start of the falling rocks long before they began falling but not fast enough to shout a word of warning. In an instant survival instinct and battle experience guided his thoughts as he listed his short list of options to get both him and Sheele out of here alive. They were in the middle of one of the many basement rooms of Night Raids base. Above them, a literal mountain of falling rock could be coming down atop of them. It was pure suicide to run for the stairs, they would be crushed before they even got close to make the first step. With that option gone, the only one that presented itself was get to the one spot that could be considered safe at that moment. In an underground structure the most stable parts of the room are the walls. Essentially they were just flat surfaces dug out of the rock in order to mark the space of the room. Theoretically, if you put support up along key points in the room you could dig down near infinitely to get all of the room you want. Of course, the subtle layer of molten rock tends to stop digging plans.

Nevertheless the walls were still the most stable part of the room as of that moment. They still had collapsable ceiling over them, but at least Kaneki had no fears of everything falling atop of him. No ghoul alive, maybe not even the one eyed King could take the force of a mountain getting dropped on them. Even a S-Class ghoul such as Rize was brought down with some steel pillars. So if there was even a ghost of a thought in Kaneki's mind that he could hold up the mountain, it was quickly thrown out. No, there was no way he could hold up a mountain, but he didn't have to hold up everything did he? Fate gave the two the best chance to get out alive, since they were already so close after their moment. Kaneki barely had to move to grab Sheele with both hands and with a quick kick off the floor, send them both at the wall. As they moved the ceiling began to fall and Kaneki forced out all four of his kagune to smash away any falling debris that threatened to stop their flight path. When Kaneki and Sheele hit the wall Kaneki wrapped as much of her frame around him as he could before surrounding both of them with his kagune. Two tails protected their sides while the others were above and angled so that all rock that would come down on them would be somewhat diverted.

Kaneki waited for the pressure to begin, and he wasn't disappointed. Although his sight was covered by the familiar red of his kagune, the feeling of something bigger than him slowly adding crushing amounts of force was unmistakable. The seconds dragged on and the pressure kept coming to the point that Kaneki wasn't sure if he had made the right choice. It just kept coming! But then he felt it stop, the pressure was still there yes but he could feel that there was nothing more being added. Kaneki felt the sweat that had plastered itself on his face while he was holding the rocks off run down his face. He hadn't even felt himself start to sweat, he must have concentrated a bit to hard. Or something was changing his senses. Kaneki really didn't want to think about that. In the small space that the confines of his Kagune allowed he looked down at Sheele's head. From his angle he could only see her hair and the slender lines of her back. From what he could see, other than the odd pebbles of rock and a huge amount of dust nothing had fallen on her.

"Are you ok?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Sheele nodded "What happened?"

"The base is under attack," Kaneki growled out "If I had to guess it was probably Esdeath."

Although Kaneki couldn't see her face, he could guess that she was surprised to say the least. "How did she find us?"

"She probably had someone follow either me or Tatsumi when we came back." Kaneki figured, in the back of his mind he was currently debating whether to tell Sheele off for saying 'us' when referring to Night Raid. Kaneki didn't see himself as a member, but she did apparently. The other thought in his head was that he was an idiot. He had suspected that Esdeath might try something like this, and he thought he was so clever with how he covered his tracks. Apparently he didn't do a good enough job as he thought he did.

Kaneki forced it out of his mind, he needed to concentrate. He moved the two other kagune tails from around them causing a slight dribble of stone to fall down but thankfully nothing more then that. Kaneki steeled himself, and silently prayed that there wasn't to much rock between them and open air. With all four of his kagune Kaneki shot up, crushing every inch of stone in his way. The two of them were out of the small cave they have created and they found themselves in the floor above the storage room. The collapse had cut out the power in the lights causing the hallway to now be cloaked in darkness. Kaneki didn't mind, he didn't needs his eyes as much as the next man with his other senses already supercharged thanks to ghoul DNA and battle experience guiding him. Kaneki looked around for any assailants before realizing he was still holding onto Sheele. He quickly let her go and in the dim light he thought he saw her blush but they could talk about that later. Kaneki allowed his kagune to fade away once again and he glanced at Sheele "Please tell me Extase wasn't buried under a few hundred tons of rock?"

Sheele shook her head "No, I left it in my room. It's not to far away, we should be able to retrieve it after a few minutes."

Kaneki nodded and started taking off his white captain cloak before a thought stopped him "Sheele."

"Huh? What?"

Kaneki raised an eyebrow "Did you seriously go into the basement where an unknown event without your Imperial Arm?"

Sheele blinked and Kaneki didn't have to guess if she was blushing or not. She scratched her head for a second "Um? Yes?"

Kaneki rolled his eyes "We really need to talk about your airheadedness."

He took of his white Captains cloak and shirt revealing his black battle suit. After Kaneki had gained the cloak he made it a point to keep the battle suit on his person at all times. He wasn't around the cafe to check the middle door anymore so that wasn't a safe enough spot anymore. Even with the added fabric, Kaneki was able to continue acting the way he did without any hinderances. In the suit one and only pocket he pulled out his ghoul mask and after a few practices motions, took of his fake eye patch and put on the mask. Once it was on he nodded to Sheele and the two started making their way down the halls. Debris was everywhere but Kaneki and Sheele managed to find ways to get around them relatively easily. As they ran, Kaneki kept his single eye searching for anything that could indicate an enemy presence. As they passed by an open hallway something jumped out at Kaneki. He didn't have a chance to look at it fully before he had to move away from the bladed edge of a dagger being thrown at him. Kaneki leaned back to avoid the edge and as he traveled brought out a hand to stop Sheele from getting hit as well. He continued leaning back, doing a backwards somersault before getting into a battle position. As soon as Kaneki's hand sprouted out to stop her movement Sheele reacted instantly and jumped back. The dagger continued down the hallway before it impacted and stuck on the wall. Kaneki didn't spare any time looking at the dagger, he instead waited for the owner of the dagger to show himself. When his waiting was met with nothing but silence Kaneki motioned to move forward. Sheele looked a little cautious but she did as indicated.

They continued through the base, moving around rocks and through newfound openings. Soon they made it to the girl's wing of the quarters. It was much larger than Kaneki figured it should've been. From what he could see it was a set of five different rooms the size of the average penthouse sweet. Kaneki was sure that Mine or Najenda made it like that but he didn't bother to question Sheele for details. Sheele went into the first open door and a few seconds later she came out with Extase on her back. Kaneki nodded "Good. You said the others were preparing for a counter attack when you went down to check on me? Where were they?"

Sheele face flashed with worry before it turned back to the emotionless calm of a killer. Kaneki wasn't going to lie and say that he wasn't impressed with how well she was able to disconnect with her emotions in a battlefield situation. It was a skill that he had learned after Yamori, maybe Sheele was trained? Anyway Kaneki didn't have the chance to ask as Sheele started explaining "They were supposed to be in the hallway we just passed through. The collapsing rock must have forced them somewhere else."

"Any idea's where they might be?"

Sheele thought for a moment "The center courtyard?"

Kaneki shook his head "No, that would be suicide. If it's Esdeath that's attacking us then she would have this entire mountain side surrounded to insure that no one gets out alive. If they headed to the courtyard they'll be dead in seconds."

Kaneki noticed another flash of worry on Sheele's face but he put up a hand "Relax, they probably thought the same as us that it was Esdeath attacking. Without a plan none of us can take her on. I don't know about Tatsumi, but everyone else was probably smart enough to get out of here. Are there any secret escape tunnels?"

Again Sheele shook her head "No, boss was going to have Leone dig a few in case of emergency but with the recent rise in important job requests we had to postpone."

Kaneki had to resist the urge to face-palm. How many stupid choices are going to come back to bite him today? "Then until we run into them we operate under the assumption they got out."

Sheele nodded before taking a swift breath in. Kaneki didn't have to ask what she was surprised about, he felt the tip hit the back of his head. If Kaneki was like he was when he was first attacked by Night Raid, his skin would have been weak enough that the knife slid through his skin like any other barrier. But that was before Kaneki ate that soldier girl for a nice meal. While yes that was two weeks ago a ghoul can survive on the body of a single human for a month without needing to eat again. While the two weeks did weaken his skin slightly, it still wasn't enough time for the blade to pierce his skin. So like the kitchen knife he first used on himself all those years ago, the blade shattered against his skin. Kaneki didn't wait for his attacker to move. He spun around, extending his foot out as he did so to knock whoever was close enough to attack him off balance. Once he was turned around Kaneki saw the falling form of his attacker. He, no she, no it. Honestly Kaneki didn't know nor did he care but it looked human enough. It wore a round top hat and a unbuttoned long sleeved jacket with nothing underneath showing the toned body of a killer. Besides that he had a set of jeans but Kaneki stopped looking any further after he grabbed the falling creatures face in his left palm. Using nothing but pure strength, he slammed the head of his attacker into the ground as hard as he could. Like an egg falling out of the container its head cracked open and its contents spilled out all over the ground. The blood splattered itself all along Kaneki's arm and he felt his hunger rise up. This thing, it was made from many different people but it was still human.

It would make a fantastic meal.

Kaneki glanced back at Sheele "Unless you want to see something that will scare you, you best turn away."

Despite seeing someone's head smashed in, Sheele looked unfazed. In fact she looked even calmer now then when she wasn't even in battle. Sheele didn't say anything as she turned away. Kaneki gave a nod in thanks before looking down at the body. He quickly unzipped his mask and then he let his ghoul half go to work. Kaneki tore through the body and stuffed it into his mouth as fast as he could, this base had become a war zone so there was no time to indolge himself on the taste. It tasted like a single man buffet of a hundred humans, like someone had taken parts out of a hundred people and put them in a single body. Kaneki had no doubt in his mind that this thing was Stylish's creation. Which meant that this entire base was crawling with these things, excellent.

When Kaneki was finished only the blood smeared on the floor remained. Kaneki reached out with his right hand to touch the floor but he stopped himself. He didn't need to give those voice any reason to push him off just yet. When things got desperate, then he would give into the bloods calling. He snapped his fingers getting Sheele's attention to turn around. She looked unfazed by being so close to an eating ghoul "You're still not scared?"

Sheele's gaze didn't falter for a second "You're eating them, not us. You don't need to be afraid Kaneki, we will accept you."

Kaneki was able to keep his face completely neutral thanks to his mask. If he was free to move as he wanted he would've cracked the stupidest grin that his skin allowed. Sheele was trying her best to convince Kaneki, and herself for that matter, that Kaneki could come out with what he really was. It might be like what Sheele was saying, that they would accept him. The prospect almost made Kaneki laugh but he kept it to himself. He zipped up his mask again and the two continued down the hall. They went in the same formation throughout the entire endeavor, Kaneki on point and Sheele watching their rear as best she could. So when the wall exploded a ways a way from them, they were ready for what came out. What happened to come out was Tatsumi, in his Incursio armor fighting a giant of a man. He had a head of jet black hair, like the last advanced soldier he only had a jacket covering his oversized upper body. He was smiling like an idiot while swinging an oversized sword at Tatsumi who tried to block the giant blade with the shattered remains of his own. As they moved passed, a group of two other soldiers fallowed. Unlike the big man they looked somewhat normal with average builds and heights carrying average swords as weapons. They were keeping a close tab on the big man and Tatsumi but they were far enough away that they could be intercepted. Which was exactly what Kaneki and Sheele did.

Sheele rushed forward aiming for the closest man while Kaneki vaulted over her to reach the far one. They reacted much faster than any normal human's but it still wasn't fast enough. With expert motions Sheele opened Extase and cut the first one apart with a single slice at his midsection. Kaneki's target managed to get his sword in position to stab Kaneki when he came down from his leap. Kaneki noticed the movement and kicked off the wall sending him flying to the other side of the soldiers guard. He tried to swing his sword in an arc that would catch Kaneki on the head but the artificial ghoul stuck faster. Kaneki put a single punch at the man's elbow, braking the joint and causing him to drop his sword. Kaneki caught the blade midair and slammed the edge into the man's foot pinning him to the ground. Even before whatever it was could even scream out in pain Kaneki jumped up and with a quick midair spin placed a kick right at the man's neck. The force of the attack went far beyond breaking his neck, instead it took his head clean off his shoulders. By the time that it hit the wall, it was little more than red mist.

Without checking Sheele's work Kaneki ran to the hole created by Tatsumi and the big man. Apparently the two were so destructive that they crashed straight through the outer walls of the base and managed to get outside in the front courtyard. It was about a hundred feet down and from this vantage point Kaneki could see something that made a chill go down his back. Hundreds, literally hundreds of advanced soldiers were coming down the courtyard to the base.

And Tatsumi had landed on his back in the middle of it.

Kaneki cursed under his breath before quickly grabbing the sword that he used to pin the other advanced soldier. "Get out of here Sheele," Kaneki ordered as he calculated where he needed to jump to "Find anyone you can then abandon the base. Tatsumi and I will meet up with you sometime later."

Sheele hesitated for a second "But-."

"But nothing!" Kaneki screamed "Go!"

Kaneki didn't wait for her argument or her agreement as he jumped out of the hole and down to the battle below. He put his arms and legs together and pointed his body straight down to make himself fall as fast as possible. The distance from the ground to Kaneki vanished in an instant and in that instant Kaneki was right above the big man. He was saying something but Kaneki couldn't hear over the wind in his ears. What he did know about the fight, was that the big man's neck was open to attack. Kaneki put his right hand into a chopping pattern and when he got close enough he sliced at the man's neck with as much power he could with his limited movement. His hand hit it's target, and it kept going, cutting clean through the flesh like butter. Kaneki smiled under his mask and with a graceful spin he landed on the ground next to Tatsumi. The armored Assassin blinked in surprise "Kaneki?" he asked.

"In the flesh." Kaneki said reaching out a hand to help him.

Tatsumi took the hand and when he got up he found that Kaneki was handing him a sword "Use this." Kaneki said.

Tatsumi nodded before taking the blade. Kaneki and Tatsumi then took back to back stances as the army of advanced soldiers surrounded them. Kaneki scanned the army and thankfully none of the advanced soldiers looked to outfitted for battle. As he looked he noticed something interesting that made him smile. If these were just normal soldiers so all he and Tatsumi needed to do was push through them to get a path out of here. Easy right?

Kaneki glanced behind him for a second "Where is everyone else?"

"We were on the south hallway before the collapse, when that started we made our way out of the base so that we wouldn't be caught in the falling rock. After that I got jumped by the big guy, and well, you know the rest."

His head snapped up as if he realized something "Oh wait is-!"

"Sheele's fine." Kaneki said quickly and Tatsumi let out a sigh of relief.

Around them, the army finished their circle and Kaneki lowered his stance "I'm going to make a distraction," he said "Use it to get out of here and meet up with everyone."

"Are you insane!" Tatsumi shouted "You can't take these things by yourself!"

Kaneki rolled his eye at Tatsumi's outburst "I don't need to."

He pointed up the mountain where the still form of a man overlooking the battlefield was watching "I don't need to kill them all, I just need to take out the one who gives the orders. Cut off the head of the snake as it were. This will also give you a large enough distraction that you could get out. Are you clear?"

Tatsumi was silent for a moment before he let out a slight chuckle. Kaneki raised an eyebrow "What's so funny?"

"You give off the feeling that you don't care about everyone, but here you are risking your life so that we could get out. You're not half bad of a guy."

Kaneki nearly face palmed "I'm keeping my tactical advantages alive nothing more."

"Sssuurr-."

"I'm going to kill you in your sleep." Kaneki said.

Before Tatsumi could respond Kaneki shot forward and the army charged to meet him in kind. They jumped at the single ghoul covering all possible angles so that Kaneki could only go one way; through them.

"Out of my way." Kaneki growled.

As soon as the first soldier came in close enough Kaneki smashed its face in with his fist. After that they just kept coming, and Kaneki kept punching his way through each one of them. He always struck with as much condensed force that he could, insuring everyone of them were taken out with one hit. It didn't take long for Kaneki's suit to start becoming drenched in blood and it a few drops made their way onto his right arm. The Ketsueki Shinigami started tensing for more but Kaneki forced the growing bloodlust down. He focused all of his concentration at the figure standing atop the mountain side, which now that he was close enough Kaneki could identify as Stylish. The doctor was looking down at Kaneki's efforts with the same deranged smile he always did and Kaneki was feeling the growing urge to rip that smile off his face. He kicked a soldier that was getting a little too close before jumping as high as he could. He sailed over the mass of advanced soldiers and onto the cliffside. Kaneki punched the wall making himself a foothold before using a series of punches and kicks to quickly climb up the side of the mountain. Kaneki expected the soldiers to follow him up in an attempt to protect their master. When none did, Kaneki felt a growing sense of unease as he ascended the final jump to the edge of the cliff. With a quick jump and a flip he landed on the cliffside and standing across from him was Stylish. The good doctor was grinning like normal and slow clapping like an idiot. Or a genius with a winning strategy "Excellent! Truly stylish Ghoul of Night Raid! You made quick and wonderful work of my soldiers, I'm going to have to make them even better next time!I will mak-!"

Kaneki was only half listening to Stylish as he shouted his praise. He was currently glancing behind him, wondering if he could bring out his kagune without anyone seeing it. Stylish would see it yes, but he would be breathing for much longer to make that particular fact an issue.

"-And then I will show you the best toys I made for your arrival!"

That caught Kaneki's attention and he focused all of it on Stylish. Stylish smiled "Finally listening to me are we? Excellent! As I was saying, I made a little something special for you my good friend."

Kaneki said nothing, but instead dropped low into a battle stance. The movement made Stylish laugh "Oh you think I'm going to be the one fighting you? Oh that's so cute," Stylish let out a laugh "No the one you want to look out for, is right there." he said pointing to the side of Kaneki.

Kaneki glanced to where Stylish was pointing and he caught sight of the crimson tip of a sword. At first he wasn't going to do anything, just let his skin take the hit and make the sword shatter like the last dagger that tried to pierce his skin. But as soon as he saw the tip, his instincts screamed for him to dodge. So Kaneki made the split second choice to lean back as far as he could to dodge. The tip of the blade hit his forehead just above his eye and it, cut him?

"_What_?" Kaneki asked in his head.

He kept moving backwards leading into a backwards flip that landed him on his feet looking at his attacker. Esdeath stood before him, between Kaneki and Stylish with her trademark smile "Excellent reaction time, you haven't gotten slower have you?"

She pointed her crimson rapier him, and she laughed as she said "Captain Kaneki?"

Kaneki's eye widened in surprise before he shook the surprise down. She knew, how the hell did she know? No, how long did she know? No, there were too many questions and no time to ask them, he needed to make the distraction so Tatsumi and the others could get out. Even if he had to fight Esdeath, Kaneki was sure that he could get out even with minor injuries. He tried focus on something else and the sunlight gleamed off the Rapier Esdeath was holding. It seemed to be made of a crimson crystal that had lighter and darker shades throughout it. Kaneki's eye narrowed as he focused on the fine details of the blade "_That looks like, no, that's not possible!"_

Seeing Kaneki's eye widen Doctor Stylish let out a huge barking laughter "Isn't it excellent my dear captain! Yes! It is what you fear! I, THE FABULOUS DOCTOR STYLISH HAVE GIVEN THE WORLD THE GIFT OF THE QUINQUE!"

Kaneki shook his head "That's impossible."

The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them and Esdeath only laughed "What? Did you think you were the only ghoul to come to us?"

Kaneki's gaze switched from the blade to Esdeath. He couldn't take it, he had to know "How long?"

Esdeath raised a questioning eyebrow and smirked "How long have I know that you were a ghoul? You were a member of Night Raid? Or both?"

"Stop fucking with me! Both damn it!" Kaneki screamed.

Esdeath looked up and pretended to think "Hmm, How long? Let's see, I don't think there was ever a time I didn't know what you were. I've known since you first showed your face in the capitol."

Kaneki gritted his teeth in frustration "Cut the crap," he growled "That's not possible, how did you know! And if you did why did you bother letting me do what I want freely!" he demanded.

Esdeath's smile grew again, if that was possible "Oh my dear Captain, that would spoil the fun."

Kaneki felt the anger rise in him and his ghoul half took over as his eye changed in color. The change caused Esdeath to get into a battle stance with her quinque rapier out in front of her and Kaneki lowed himself into a battle stance as well. Stylish snapped his fingers and an advanced soldier brought out a gem emblazoned chair for him to sit on. He clapped his hand like a little kid on Christmas "Oh this is great! I get to see my work perform before my by the hands of a goddess! The first of four I've made so far and I have to say it is by far the best because it is being wielded by you my general! This will so make up for all those," his eye twitched behind his places "Fucking disturbances that stupid beast created for me. Oh, she will be put through even more torture for doing that to me!"

Kaneki's stances shook a little when he heard Stylish spoke "She?"

Stylish rolled his eyes "My apologies, the young Wave has gotten into my head. Making me look at that thing like it was something more than an experiment, it caused my words to slip."

His eyes glossed over for a second as a thought passed through his head "Wave also got it to speak. How, why? Why won't it speak for me! I'll have to rip it apart even more for this!"

Kaneki's hand clenched in anger out of pure disgust for what Stylish was saying. Esdeath tisked Stylish "You did your work excellently doctor. I'm sure that everyone is making quick work of the remaining members of Night Raid."

Her gaze returned to Kaneki "Now, shall we?"

Kaneki nodded "Yes but first a final question."

"Yes?"

"You mentioned that the other ghoul that you made the quinque out of was a she. Who is she?"

Esdeath thought for a moment "To tell you the truth we didn't know, that was of course, until Wave had a nice conversation with her."

Stylish rolled his eyes and scoffed before Esdeath continued "Her name is Touka if I remember correctly. She's a friend of yours correct?"

Kaneki didn't answer, his mind was trying to process what was just said. Thoughts and emotions were going through his head so fast he couldn't keep up. Then, sentences and information flashed through his head and connected.

"_I, THE FABULOUS DOCTOR STYLISH HAVE GIVEN THE WORLD THE GIFT OF THE QUINQUE!_"

"_The first of four I've made so far._"

"_This will so make up for all those, Fucking disturbances that stupid beast created for me. Oh, she will be put through even more torture for doing that to me!_"

"_How, why? Why won't it speak for me! I'll have to rip it apart even more for this!_"

"_Her name is Touka if I remember correctly. She's a friend of yours correct?" _

"_QUINQUE!"_

"_First of four." _

"_Stupid Beast."_

"_Even more torture!" _

"_Rip." _

"_It." _

"_Apart." _

"_Torture!"_

"_Rip."_

"_Apart."_

"_Touka. She's a friend of yours correct?" _

…

…

…

…

Kill

Kill him

KILL HIM

KILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIM_KILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIM__**KILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIM! **_

_**RIP HIM APART! **_

_**TEAR HIM TO SHREDS! **_

_**REMOVE HIM FROM THE EARTH! **_

_**KKKKKKIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL! HHHIIIIIIMMMMMM!**_

"_**STYLISH! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" **_Kaneki roared.

He jumped straight over Esdeath and right at Stylish. Kaneki let out a roar but before he could strike Stylish Esdeath slammed a kick on the side of his face sending him into the ground. As soon as he hit the ground Kaneki scrambled from the ground and ran at Stylish once again. But before he could make any headway a wall of ice appeared between him and Stylish. He looked for the source and Esdeath was pointing her quinque rapier at him "I am your opponent, Ghoul of Night Raid."

Kaneki felt a sharp ping of pain coming from his arm and the voices of the Ketsueki Shinigami screamed in his head "**_What are you doing?_**" They asked "**_They made quinque out of Touka, tortured her, ripped her apart? Why? WHY AREN'T YOU KILLING THEM FOR TOUKA!_**"

Kaneki looked at Esdeath with all of the rage a ghoul's eyes could hold and inside, he let go. To hell with sanity, humanity, any _fucking_ barrier that was making him weak! They needed to die! He reached down and using his right hand, he sucked up every drop of blood that had gotten into his suit. The Ketsueki Shinigami screamed in delight before the blood of god knows how many different advanced soldiers crawled up his arm. It solidified into a brilliant cutlass and the remaining blood covered his right arm like a gauntlet of armor.

"Esdeath, Stylish" Kaneki put his thumb in front of his forefinger and with a quick motion he cracked his finger making a snapping sound ring out. From his back his kagune sprouted out, all four of them.

But they didn't stop.

A black mass made it's way from Kaneki's back to his mouth. It started to cover his mouth like a mask and as it formed four more appendages sprouted from his back causing Kaneki to violently spasm. He felt the power the the madness rushing through him, the voices of the Ketsueki Shinigami screaming their praise, but he didn't care. He knew exactly want he was doing and what it would do to him. Kaneki only wanted the power this madness would give him, damn the consequences! Someone in the distence screamed for help but Kaneki didn't hear them. They could do it themselves, he had been doing plenty on his own so they should start doing the same!

When Kaneki finished it looked like eight different insect legs were scrapping around him. On his face the black mass solidified into a mask of black colored armor that looked like the head of an insect. As it finished Stylish squealed in delight "OH THIS IS GLORIOUS CAPTAIN! SO RAW! SO STYLISH!"

"Shut up Stylish." Kaneki snarled out "Now listen close, because it's going to be the last thing you hear. I don't care if I have to sell my soul. Forget whatever humanity I have left, I only want one thing." Kaneki's eyes flashed white with pure anger and all eight mandibles pointed their edges at Stylish and Esdeath "You created those things, ripped Touka apart to make them. And you want to make more!?_ You are beyond shit! Unworthy of even being eaten and becoming shit yourselves!_" Kaneki screamed.

As he screamed another mass of red and black sprang from his back. This one looked like it was the tall of an insect, a Centipede "I don't care if I lose my mind, I become the monster I've been fighting for so long! I WANT THE TWO OF YOU DEAD AT MY FEET! SO FOR TOUKA, I'M GOING TO DRAG YOU DOWN TO HELL WITH ME!"

Esdeath smiled "I like to see you try."

Kaneki closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were pure white. He smiled the grin of a devil "_**Be careful what you wish for Esdeath. You just might get what you want before you're ready for it.**_"

And with that, the SS ranked ghoul, Codename: Eyepatch and Centipede charged the strongest human in the empire.

Authors Note:

**And I have officially broken the amount of hate someone can have for one character.**

**So, Stylish's, 'attempts' at making Touka talk, thoughts?**

***Gets Shot***

**Harsh.**

**And yes I know I would say what the pairing would be this chapter for Kaneki. But I wanted to be a tease one more time, you mad? And I apologize here if any of my writing seemed cringe worthy for the softer bits. I'm still working on that part of my writing so hopefully it will get better.**

**Since its going to be another while before the next chapter, consider this my Halloween Gift. =] Hope you like**

**So please wait in want and anticipation for the next Chapter: Blood and Ice**

**So if you found this, Thanks for Reading =].**


	14. Update 3: Questions and Things

**I only know one thing to say to you people. And that is this. Sorry its taking so long. **

**Normally this is the part where I put the next chapter out and then I sit back and watch as your hate for Stylish grows. (It will, trust me it will)**

**But life called and it wanted its due from me. I'll be completely honest with you guys, out of the 15K word chapter that I have planned, I'm only about 6K through writing after nearly two mouths! It's crazy I know and I apologies for that. Both work and school upped the bar for what is expected of me in my personal life and that made my writing time go down the drain as I try to keep my GPA and work schedule from sucking me dry. **

**So I'm putting a few things here that will probably remain ****permanent**** until either Summer comes along or school gets off my back. **

**1\. The chapters of The Ghoul of Night Raid will come out in about two mouth intervals starting with the next chapter. (Witch is going to be finished by the tenth of Jan next year or earlier, because I've never had a problem with keeping crap like this constant before)**

**2\. I am serious about asking questions about the story. Please ask me, point out the faults of the story so that I can fix them. **

**To show that I'm serious about the questions, here's answering a few that have already come up. **

Kaioo: Wait.. doesn't the Ghoul have to die for their Kagune to be turned into a Quinque?

Or well, have their Kagune ripped out? And a Kagune can only make one Quinque?

**Very good point and normally that would be a yes. **

**But then I started reading Tokyo Ghoul re and most of, if not all of the ****investigators**** that are under first class have, what the wiki refers to as "Mass production Quinque." In the war between human's and ghouls I am almost 100% positive that the ghouls have killed more humans then the other way around. So there is no way the CCG has the same ghoul corpse lying around to make the same quinque over and over again. The way that I am justifying it is like your taking a branch off a tree. You hurt the tree but you don't completely destroy it and eventually the tree will regrow a branch to replace the one that was lost. I know that's not a very good nor a very sound analigy but the replacement option is to either cut it out entirely (Witch would cripple the story at this point) or kill Touka.**

**If I do that I'm going to have KanekiXTouka shippers kidnap me and put me in a dark room where I have to say what 1000 minus 7 is. And since I still want to write this story and live afterwards, I'm not going to do that. **

**Please tell me if I got that little info on the Mass Production Quinque right. I have an entire Arc planned around those things so I would like to know if my facts are straight. **

Qchronicles: btw noro from tokyo ghoul could survive the base failing on top on him.

**Yes. But there it's a short ass list of the things that guy can't survive. I mean seriously, he got blown into pieces, the pieces got stabbed and his head went through a shredder and the asshole walked it off! Not going to say that's not Badass, far from it, but it gets a little annoying. **

**I don't know who ****(Some guest user) ****but someone PM'd me about wanting a Lemon in return for Touka getting ****tortured****. Well here's my answer regarding lemons. **

**No. **

**I'm not having them. I don't mind them in a story mind you, I'm a guy and I'm a pig I admit that. But I barely have confidence in myself for writing a good story. I'm not going to throw in a sex scene in there if I can't make it a good one. Sorry if everyone was expecting a steamy scene with Token later on, but no. It's not going to happen. Sorry.**

**And as for the question on everyone's mind. **

**Is this going to be a KanekiXTouka story? **

**Saying it here, the answer is yes. You cool with that?**

**Don't expect it to come any time soon though. I have entire arcs planned before those two are even in the same room as each other and then I'll probably end the chapter on a cliff-hanger. I realized that end almost all of my chapters on a cliff-hanger. I'm a mean person. **

**And finally an update on something everyone might have overlooked so that I can show my sadistic side. The list of people who'll survive the story are as follows: Wave, Chelsea and Bois. Anyone who's name isn't on that list is still free game to die. That includes Touka, Sheele and Kaneki folks. **

***Evil laugh intensifies***

**Fun times right?**

**So again, I'm sorry that things aren't working out well enough for me to get you the chapter. And let me be clear, this fix, will. Never. Die. I put too much time planning and making notes to let all of this go to waste. **

**So until next time, Thanks for reading The Ghoul of Night Raid**


	15. Interlude

I don't know anymore.

I honestly can't remember why I'm fighting.

Was I protecting something?

Was I trying to save someone?

Did they want to be saved?

What am I saying, of course they wanted to be saved.

They were fighting against such a cruel world!

They got hurt protecting me! So I need to be stronger!

I need to be the strongest! NO! I AM THE STRONGEST! So now, they can live normal lives! Free from anything that could hurt them!

Yes! That's what I'll do, I'll burn this world, I'll burn this world to the ground and eat the ashes for good measure!

I don't how many fucking humans get in my way! I'm going to save her, take her away and protect her.

Just you wait Touka, **we're** coming!

* * *

Oh how long I've waited for this.

To look into the eyes of death, and actually feel the fear that comes with seeing those eyes.

It took two years, but I finally managed to break him.

He finally snapped, and gave in to the demons in his head.

Now, give me a fight!

Give me a reason to remember you!

To Respect you!

To acknowledge you!

To Fear you!

Make me feel alive again Ghoul!

If you want to save your friend, your lover, I really don't care what she is to you.

But you need to get through me before you can even try to save her.

So come on then!

* * *

First, they beat me.

Second, they see if fire can burn me. It can.

Three, they laugh as I'm put through the same things over and over again.

I Scream.

I Fight.

I have to remind myself that it's just going to repeat.

How long, how many?

How many times have they ripped me apart just to put me back together?

How long have they laughed as a scream?

I

I used to think he was weak for changing, for becoming something just because of a little pain.

But then they took my hands.

They took my fingers.

My hands.

My feet!

MY WING!

WHAT ELSE ARE THEY GOING TO TAKE FROM ME!?

WHAT ELSE CAN THEY TAKE!

…

…

…

I

I want to keep sight of who I am, but that means I have to keep fighting.

But, it hurts so much.

Please.

I want this to stop.

Someone, anyone.

Just end it.

I don't want to keep fighting anymore.

* * *

**Ok, I should probably spend the next five minutes begging for forgiveness. From my last update chapter, I have written a total of two thousand words.**

**Yeah, it's pathetic.**

**The reason this interlude chapter is here is for one reason.**

**To create the biggest mountain of salt possible.**

**I'm sorry bad joke is bad. The reason this chapter is here is to show you people this story isn't dead. It's just that a combination of writer's block and a few problems in my personal life have made writing a chore instead of fun. So with that said, it's going to be a while till the next chapter is out. I need to sort things out in my life and then hopefully by the time that goes away I can get back to writing this story like I want to be doing. I'm going to be rereading my work, reading the manga and watching the anime for both stories to get back the feeling I had when I first started writing this.**

**So regretfully, this story is going to go on a short Hiatus until I can find my muse again.**

**Again, I'm sorry. No one is more disappointed in me then I myself am. I promised to work and get the chapter out by the tenth and it's already almost February.**

**Hopefully you guys can forgive me for my laziness and forgetfulness. But if you can't hopefully you can still enjoy this story.**

**So until my writer's block goes away, Helspawn007 is signing off for a few weeks.**

**PS: Those thoughts above are a basic outline about what the next chapter has in store for you guys. Fun times ahead right?**


	16. Blood and Ice: A Reaper is Born

Since something's might get a little confusing here's a little dialogue guide for the chapter.

Everyone and the Kaneki we all know and love.

_Someone who forgot to live, and the thoughts of those still with us_

**Something strange.**

_**Something else.**_

**Warning, shit has passed straight through the fan.**

I don't own Akame ga Kill or Tokyo Ghoul

_I thought I could be the bridge between monster and human. In the end, I was just the monster._

As he ran through the hoards of advanced soldiers, Tatsumi had two thoughts running through his head. The first was that how many of these soldiers could one man have? Tatsumi hadn t spent much time around Stylish but he thought he had at least a rough estimate about how many soldiers the doctor had at his disposal. He didn t like agreeing with Kaneki, but the white haired mystery could make a good point when he wanted to. Tatsumi silently cursed himself, he really should ve believed Kaneki as soon as he had given his statement. Mostly because of the fact that it was coming true before his eyes. No matter how many members Night Raid had, numbers didn t matter with Stylish. Kaneki had said he had a literal army at his disposal and Tatsumi thought he was exaggerating.

Now, however, his fists and the sword that Kaneki had given him were both drenched in drying blood. Luckily the almost torturous training that Night Raid had put him through kept him moving through soldier after soldier. After he and Kaneki had split up, the armored assassin opted to take the fastest route to reunite with the rest of Night Raid. It wasn t a perfect plan, it had its ups and downs. The upside was the clearest thing to see, it was the shortest straight line to everyone else. Sure a few advanced soldiers were in his way, but after one or two swings of his sword, they weren t much of a problem.

The downside was the _huge_ possibility that he could run into one of the Jaegers.

Tatsumi had steeled himself from the moment he met each of them. He knew deep down he would have to fight them if they stood in the way of the Revolutionary Army. If they stood in the way of Night Raid, they would be destroyed. Tatsumi almost laughed, thoughts like that were nice up until the moment that he actually had to fight them. While he couldn t deny that Doctor Stylish needed to die, his experiments as he called them were some of the most monstrous, horrible things Tatsumi had ever heard of. And the worse part about it was, Tatsumi had only heard rumors about what his research was like. He d never admit it to Lubbock or Leone, he would never hear the end of it but those rumors gave him nightmares. He had hoped, prayed even that some of those rumors were just that, words used to spread gossip and sow fear in the new recruits. But as another advanced soldier jumped at him in a vain attempt to stop his charge, he knew that those rumors were only a prelude to a far greater evil. So yes, there was no voice of reason or god above that could argue that Doctor Stylish didn t deserve to die.

But some of the others didn t deserve any harm at all.

Bois had a family, a wife, and daughter who worried every single day of the possibility that the greatest man in their lives might never come back home because he fell fighting Assassins. Tatsumi had never really talked to either of them, only seen them in person once at the Jaegers gathering that one morning and heard about them from the many stories that Bois was always delighted to tell. He was a proud father, happy for his family and willing to go any lengths to protect them. Tatsumi only knew one other man who had the same level of devotion to his loved ones, his old teacher back home. No matter what stupid thing he, Sayo or Leyasu did, his teacher would always make sure that they were alright. Before doubling their training the next day as punishment.

Then there was Wave, and he was an interesting case. It was like looking into another world, seeing Wave in action. Wave was a loyal soldier, a friend to his comrades and one who would do anything to protect them. In a sense, Wave lead the life that Tatsumi wanted before he learned the truth about the empire. Strong, loyal and respected by the empire. Funny how fate works right?

On the other hand, while Wave and Bois were like open books, Ran and Kurome were strange mysteries. Ran was always by Esdeath, offering her council and being the perfect position to hear every dirty or interesting secret about what was going on in the empire. He was always there with a kind smile, willing to give wisdom and advice to all those that wanted his opinion on the matter. Kurome, well, she really, really likes candy. She also creeped Tatsumi out more than he'd care to admit. She looked like she was just a kid, but there was a dark aura about her. That was kind of funny, Tatsumi babbling about aura's and such. It was like he was a character from one of those fantasy books Sheele liked to read.

Just before Tatsumi was going to round the corner of the mountain, his instincts screamed at him to dodge something. Tatsumi jumped as high as his legs could take him as he sailed straight over a torrent of fire washed over the ground under him. Tatsumi landed a few meters away and looked for the source of the attack. Bois stood about ten meters away from him. In his hands was the Imperial Arm Rubicante, flames licked the nozzle and Bois had it pointed squarely at Tatsumi. His armor was the same as it always was from what Tatsumi has seen from their missions the two of them went on together. The only difference that Tatsumi could see was a small armguard strapped to his left arm. It looked like a box, seemingly holding no purpose at all. Tatsumi held out his sword in a battle stance to face Bois. This is the situation he didn t want to be in, one because he had to fight a Jaeger. And two it was the Jaeger he legitimately wanted to see get out of this alive. But behind Bois, Tatsumi could see Leone and Mine fighting against what looked like a giant toad and ape. His hand gripped his sword a little harder as he prepared himself to charge.

"Before we begin Assassin of Night Raid, I have a question for you," Bois said suddenly. The action took Tatsumi by surprise and his stance loosened for a second before it returned to the way it was.

Tatsumi wondered whether or not if he should speak, but he figured it was safe enough. If Wave couldn't tell who he was from his voice through Incursio, then Bois probably wouldn t either.

"What is it, Jaeger?" Tatsumi asked.

Bois kept his gaze level "Why do you fight?"

Tatsumi blinked behind his mask and visibly tilted his head so that Bois could see his confusion "What kind of question is that? If you have to ask why do I fight, then you clearly haven't seen the horrors of the empire. It is full of terrible, corrupt people who take joy in making the lives of the innocent a living hell. Each and every one of those vile people deserve death," Tatsumi pointed at Bois "Although you might not be as sinful as those men, you still protect them. If I had a choice someone like you wouldn t be killed, but if you get in the way of Night Raid. You will die."

Bois eyes narrowed at the statement "_If he could, he would let me go? What is this man talking about? I should be nothing but a target on his list of names, but he says mercy would be mine if I merely stepped down? What is going on here?_" Bois thought.

"I don't doubt that there are some in the empire who are, Bois paused for a moment, carefully thinking through his next choice of words, "Problematic."

Tatsumi almost laughed but he let Bois continue "But there are also those who are just living their lives in peace. While your reason to fight is to cause war, mine is to keep that peace. We are two sides of the coin of change, and one of us will fall. I have a family waiting for me back in the capital, for them, I will fight. And I will defeat you, Assassin of Night Raid."

As soon as Bois finished speaking, Tatsumi charged. Bois fired Rubicante, a continuous wave of fire shot out from the Imperial Arm straight at Tatsumi. Tatsumi stepped to the side to put a little distance between him and the flames but Bois moved the shot over towards Tatsumi. Tatsumi, however, had anticipated this action and acted accordingly. He planted his left foot into the ground hard allowing him to jump into the air ever so slightly. While in the air, he twisted around, flipping straight over the line of fire. He landed and continued his charge, only this time Bois didn t have enough time swing Rubicante around to fire at Tatsumi again. Tatsumi thrust his blade forward, right at Bois' neck. But Bois lifted his right arm and in a flash the box that was strapped to his arm opened. Tatsumi heard his sword click and slide against a hard surface that he couldn t get through. From the box , came a shield, about one meter in diameter, it stood strong against Tatsumi s sword. It was made out of some strange red and black crystal that Tatsumi had never seen before but whatever it was, it was tough. The second that Tatsumi s sword broke away from the short-lived deadlock, Tatsumi saw with surprise that there wasn t even a scratch on the shield. While this realization was something he could think about for days, it didn t exactly distract him from the fact that he was in deep shit. Tatsumi was now overextended and Bois shield allowed him to bring Rubicante around and aim it straight at Tatsumi s back. Bois wasted no time and fired at the masked killer, his intent to turn him into ash were he stood. Tatsumi barely had enough time to jump into a back flip to dodge the fire. He was fast enough that he didn t take the full force of the attack but Tatsumi glanced down to find that a good portion of the white cap that flowed in the breeze behind the Incursio armor was blackened badly.

A scream caught both Tatsumi and Bois attention. They turned around to see Leone carrying a wounded Mine away from the battle and up the mountain. Near them, the ape s and toad s corpses were in pieces from either Pumpkin s shots or Leone s fists, but it was clear that wasn t the only enemy they were fighting. In a flash, a white-haired man in a white suit and white face mask appeared by the two of them. In his hands was a sort of lance with a large blade at the end of it. The man swung the blade at Leone who managed to dodge the first attack but with the skill of a master the man spun the lance around and slammed the blunt end of the weapon into Leone s head. sending both her and Mine into the mountain side. Tatsumi gritted his teeth in frustration Mine! Leone! he screamed as he charged forward.

As he ran something sprang into the corner of his eye and he held up his arm in defense. Bois slammed the flat of his shield into Tatsumi, sending both of them sideways of Tatsumi s original direction and closer to the mountain wall. Tatsumi let an almost animalistic growl from his throat as he pushed against Bois s charge "Did you forget?" Bois asked between struggled breathes, "I'm still your opponent."

"I didn't forget! I just don t have any time to deal with the likes of you!" Tatsumi screamed.

He humored blow after blow against the shield causing Bois to grunt in pain as he tried to keep the shield up to protect himself. Tatsumi smiled as he slowly wore Bois down. _I might not be able to get through his shield of yours. But that doesn t mean I can t just beat you down from behind it! If I have to, I'll smash both you and this stupid shield into the ground!_

Bois held his shield up against another one of Tatsumi s crushing blows. But as the attack came one after another Bois realized something about his opponent. Bois shifted his stance slightly and tilted his shield sending Tatsumi s next blow in a different direction and over extending Tatsumi just like a few minutes before. Tatsumi cursed under his breath and this time, instead of jumping behind he rolled into his fall. A quick roll and Tatsumi was able to spin around and face his opponents next attack. He expected it to be face first in a wave of fire, so it came as a complete surprise when no attack came. Bois just stood there, ways away staring at Tatsumi. He didn t know why, but the way that Bois was looking at him from behind his mask pissed Tatsumi off. He was already angry from the danger that Mine and Leone were in, he needed to get away from Bois and help them. But he couldn t get through that stupid fucking shield. What was that thing made out of?

"Bois move!" A voice called out.

Both Bois and Tatsumi reacted and jumped away from one another. In the space that Tatsumi was a moment before, several spikes that were made of the strange crystal lodged themselves in the ground. They shattered into indistinct pieces before Tatsumi could get a good look, but he wasn t looking at the crystals very closely. Almost all of his attention was attached to the source of the crystals, Ran, flying over the battlefield like an angel of death. He was about fifty feet in the air, not high enough for Tatsumi being unable to reach him, but just high enough to give Ran enough time to dodge and fire at him while Tatsumi was suspended in the air. One of the old lessons from his teacher came back to him. No matter how fast someone is on the ground when they jump into the air, they have no control of their speed. Gravity decides how fast they fall. Someone could be fast enough to break the sound barrier with nothing but the raw speed of their body, but that speed doesn t help when you re in a free fall.

So Tatsumi was limited to fighting Ran on the ground, he also had Bois to deal with. Tatsumi had no way of attacking Ran in the air other than throwing his sword at him. But that was a one-time only attack and Tatsumi had already seen how fast Ran could maneuver in the air with his Imperial Arm. In short, Tatsumi was at the biggest disadvantage in his life and without backup, he wasn t going to get anywhere. Tatsumi scanned the surrounding area for someone, anyone who could help him. Leone and Mine were busy dealing with the white-haired man. Akame was nowhere to be found but Tatsumi had a gut feeling that she was fighting Kurome. The sisters clearly had a bad history and after he d seen Kurome talk about Akame while he was with the Jaegers, Tatsumi was sure that Kurome wasn t going to let anyone other than her take Akame on in a fight. Kaneki was fighting Esdeath, a complete suicide to any normal person but considering the sounds of crushing boulders and of weapons clashing against one another near the spot where the two parted ways, Tatsumi was pretty sure that Kaneki was holding his own perfectly fine. Hell, he had a feeling that Kaneki might actually be winning his fight, but that would be impossible. There wasn t a man alive that could take on Esdeath and hope to win, but hopefully, Kaneki was giving her a run for her money.

"Bois, keep him busy. I want to see if my new weapon is capable of breaking through that armor." Ran said flying overhead to get a better shot at Tatsumi.

Bois nodded without looking up and aimed Rubicante, sending another wall of fire at the armored Assassin. Tatsumi ducked low and instead of running away from the blast, he charged straight towards Bois. It seemed like suicide but Tatsumi saw it as his only option. Tatsumi could press his advantage against Bois in close combat, he had his shield, yes but Tatsumi would break through that thing eventually. And if he played his cards right, Tatsumi could use Bois as a shield against Ran s attacks as well. It wasn t a perfect plan, far from it actually. But it was better than testing if those crystals could pierce through Incursio. So Tatsumi rushed towards Bois, causing both Jaegers present to receive a mild case of surprise. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for Tatsumi they got over the shock quickly. Bois raised his shield while Ran flew around to the other side of Tatsumi, putting the assassin between the shield and a gun. Ran fired several shots but Tatsumi had lady luck on his side. As good of a shot Ran was with long ranged weapons, no man can accurately aim a firearm they just received with absolute accuracy. Ran got close, too close in fact, but Tatsumi managed to dodge all three shots and get to Bois. Tatsumi recalled his hand back so he could punch with all of his strength when he got in range, Bois widened his stance and waited for the blow. But it never came.

Instead of attacking like Bois expected him to, Tatsumi vaulted over Bois. Bois quickly moved his shield around to protect himself, but Tatsumi had no interest in attacking. As soon as his feet hit the ground on the other side of Bois Tatsumi sprinted towards Leone and Mine as fast as his legs could take him. Bois started to make chase after him but it was clear that he couldn t even come close to Tatsumi s level of speed. Above him, Ran flew after Tatsumi, "I ve got him!" he called to Bois.

Tatsumi glanced behind him and started running in a serpentine motion to throw off any attack that Ran might otherwise aim at him. The ground around him exploded into a flurry small explosions as Ran s crystal darts impacted right next to Tatsumi. The shot did get closer and closer as Tatsumi ran on. You could only go so far without at least one of them hitting you. Ran fired another volley and this time, one looked to be hitting its mark. But right before the shards could hit Tatsumi, they shattered, seemingly from thin air.

Ran allowed himself a surprised reaction and Tatsumi looked back when he noticed that there weren't any more shots being fired. His head snapped from side to side, looking for what had helped him.

"Why are you having so much trouble with these chumps!? I thought you were a bigger man than that!"

Tatsumi turned to the owner of the voice, and under his armor, he couldn t stop himself from letting out a huge grin. Lubbock descended down the mountain wall, using his many strings to anchor himself to the cliff face. He jumped off the mountain side, rolled into his fall and stood up in a battle stance next to Tatsumi. The green haired bookmen gave his own smirk "How's it going?" he asked casually.

"How am I doing? Mine and Leone are in serious tro-!"

"You don t have to remind me!" Lubbock said in a harsh whisper "But what can we do right now? We run and these assholes come after us, putting us into an even bigger sack of shit than we already are. Never tell him I said this, but if we didn t have Kaneki taking on Esdeath, we'd all be screwed right now."

Tatsumi looked down at Lubbock and smirked behind his mask. Lubbock could guess what Tatsumi was doing and rolled his eyes in response "Yeah yeah live it up."

Lubbock hands became blurs as he molded a weapon with his strings. In the span of a few seconds, a spear made of string was in his hands. Lubbock leveled his spear at the two Hunters and Tatsumi got into a battle stance. While the two assassins were talking, the Jaegers were mobilizing as well. Ran flew around, putting himself in the air between Lubbock and Tatsumi and their fellow assassins. Bois was low to the ground, using his shield as a prop for his Imperial Arm. For a few tense moments, nothing in the world mattered. No one moved, no one said anything, no one even breathed. In the distance, a crack echoed throughout the clearing as something was shattered. It was probably an insignificant detail to the fight that transpired around it, but for the fighters, it was the best-starting gunshot that any of them could ask for. Tatsumi and Lubbock charged at Bois, causing the pyromancer to unleash all the power his weapon could hold. A huge wave of fire exploded into the world and raced towards the assassins. Above them, Ran opened fire with a volley of crystals, and feathers from Mastema. Tatsumi and Lubbock split the instant the fire started coming towards them. Both of them nearly escaped the flames and Lubbock stumbled slightly as he jumped forward to avoid Ran s shots. Behind the two of them, an explosion of dust sprang out from the ground as Ran s shots missed their marks by mere inches.

Using the dust as cover, Lubbock and Tatsumi jumped towards Bois, brandishing their respective weapons. In a single moment, Bois was left by himself to defend against two different weapons from two different sides. His body snapped into motion, adrenaline and training forcing his body to move far faster than it had any right to go. He raised his shield, deflecting Tatsumi s sword with a huge clang. With Lubbock, he dropped Rubricate and held out his palm to the point of Lubbock s spear. The sharpened end of the string spear connected with Bois palm, but instead of going straight through it like Lubbock expected, the palm won the engagement. Looking closer, Lubbock saw that Bois hand was covered by a metal plate, probably to stop Masamune.

But with his weapon gone, Lubbock took this as a chance. He leaped over Bois and with a few quick movements, he tangled Bois shield arm in his threads. Lubbock landed on the ground and pulled with all his might. The deadlock that had held Tatsumi s blade at bay was suddenly flown free, leaving Bois completely open, but also overextending Tatsumi so that he couldn t strike with his sword. But that didn t mean that Tatsumi didn t take the chance to hit Bois. Tatsumi leaned forward, and with the momentum he had gained from Lubbock s move, he put himself in a handstand. Using his entire body, he spun himself where he was and kicked Bois square in the head. The blow had enough force to crack a bolder, but thankfully for Bois, he had already noticed the attack and was attempting to dodge it. He moved his head back as fast as he could, but he wasn t fast enough. Tatsumi s armored foot connected with the lower part of Bois jaw. Bois barely even had enough time to register the blood in his mouth before his mind shut off from the shock. So he didn t feel a thing as he tumbled backward and landed in a sprawled heap with Rubicante fuel on his back and his shield on his arm.

Although this was a great victory for the Night Raid Assassins, the moment of superiority didn't last long. Tatsumi's head snapped around to Lubbock when said assassin gave out a scream of pain. There were two crystals embedded deep into his left leg, forcing him to go down from the pain. Through the now lingering dust cloud, another spray of bullets came from Ran's gun. Tatsumi moved as fast as his body could take him, rushing over to Lubbock in an instant. He picked him up and jumped out of the way, just in time to avoid a flurry of shots that more than likely would have been fatal. Tatsumi expected a continuing rain of shots, but they didn't come. He looked up and saw that Ran was flying over to another section of the battlefield. Tatsumi stopped and stood there confused? Was he just leaving his comrade here to die alone? That wasn t Ran s style, he was probably leaving because he saw a signal of some sort. Taking the chance that there wasn t anyone waiting to ambush them from the shadows, Tatsumi set Lubbock down and examined his leg.

It was bleeding badly, the crystals still inside him. Tatsumi's hand went over to grab them but Lubbock's own hand shot out to meet his "Wait! If you just pull them out, the bleeding will get worse. Wait till I'm ready to make a quick cast."

He let go of Tatsumi's hand and took a line of string in each of his hands before biting down on one of them. Lubbock gave Tatsumi a look that told the armored assassin all he needed to know. He didn't spend any time counting down, they were wasting time as it was. So, Tatsumi grasped both crystals and ripped them free from Lubbock's flesh. The green assassin's eyes widened in pain, biting down hard on the strings in his mouth. But he bore through the pain, and a few moments later, he was panting hard with two makeshift casts around the injured parts of his leg. He gave Tatsumi a tired look and a weak smile "Not half bad for a man who plays with strings am I right?"

Tatsumi shook his head "This is no time to make jokes Lubbock, we need to get out of here."

While he spoke, Tatsumi s head was on a swivel, looking for anything that might come out of the shadows. All around him, battle sounds resonated throughout the mountain side. Tatsumi's fists clenched without him noticing, everyone was in danger, and he was stuck here! He needed to go, he needed to help them! But first, Lubbock needed help. Tatsumi leaned down to pick Lubbock up but the green-haired assassin slapped his hand away "What are you doing?" Tatsumi demanded.

"Stopping you from making a stupid mistake." Lubbock countered "Get out of here, take the forest route and escape to the empire. Hide out under my bookstore until Najenda sends for y-."

"What the hell are you saying!?" Tatsumi screamed "I'm not leaving without everyone else! Just a minute ago you were talking about going to help Leone and Mine!"

Lubbock smiled weakly "A minute ago I didn't just get done fighting two Jaegers with little chance of victory. A minute ago I didn't have two shards of who the fuck knows stuck in my leg."

Lubbock opened his mouth to continue, but he was cut short. An ear shattering roar sounded out through the clearing. It sounded like the primal fury that Incursio screamed out when Tatsumi first equipped the armor. It was a primal, hopeless, and utterly inhuman roar.

Lubbock swallowed a shot of nervous bile "And a minute ago I didn t hear something as terrifying as that."

Lubbock stared down Tatsumi, "Look Tatsumi, we're not an army, Night Raid is a group of assassins. We don't risk everything to make sure everyone gets out. We get the job done, and we do it no matter the cost. Take a look around you Tatsumi!"

Tatsumi did what Lubbock ordered him to do. Dust and small chunks of rock were being thrown every direction. Over in the distance, he could see an avalanche cause a huge pile of rocks to come down. Beams of light came up from the ground as Pumpkins shots flew through the sky. Even further beyond, something sounding like two giant rocks being ground together creates a low scratching growl.

"This isn't a fight for victory, this is a fight for survival!" Lubbock screams "We can t win this fight! Esdeath's here, all the Jaegers are here and the doctor even brought his fucking army!"

"SO WHAT!?" Tatsumi screamed "THIS ISN T A MISSION! We're all here, and we're all getting out of here even if I have to face all the Jaegers by myself!"

Lubbock stared wide-eyed at his friend's declaration. Lubbock tried to get angry, but he found himself busting a gut laughing, causing Tatsumi to frown behind his mask "What are you laughing at?"

Lubbock stuttered out a response but his laughter caused it all to come out as incoherent babble. When he finally calmed himself, Lubbock shook his head at Tatsumi "Come on man, I was trying to have an epic heroic sacrifice and going to get away with it if it was anyone other than you. I might have even gotten a kiss out of it if it was Leone too." Lubbock smirked.

Lubbock couldn't see it, but Tatsumi rolled his eyes, "Really?" he asks helping Lubbock to his feet.

Lubbock bit down a short sting of pain but he put his arm around Tatsumi so that the armored assassin could support his weight.

"Oh come on man. We have five smoking hot babes to share around the three of us."

Tatsumi gave Lubbock a look to which Lubbock responded with, "What?"

"_Three_ of us?"

Lubbock rolled his eyes, "Yeah bite me. I owe the guy for keeping Ice Queen at bay. But don't you dare tell him I said that."

Tatsumi chuckled, "Not a word. But which way?"

Lubbock opened his mouth to answer, but the question was cut off as the entire landscape around them shook. Behind them, a landslide of huge proportions shook the mountain base of Night Raid. The entire cliff face that served as the roof of the base fell atop the entrance, completely sealing off the once proud gateway. Lubbock and Tatsumi looked at one another then back at the mountain "Any road that doesn t have shit like that happening." Lubbock said.

"Agreed."

Tatsumi tucked his sword under his arm before he picked Lubbock up in bridal style. He ignored Lubbock s protest and ran full tilt towards the forest leading to the base. Tatsumi easily jumped over the short canyon wall that served as the natural barrier around the base. As soon as his feet touched the ground again, Tatsumi sprinted into the line of trees. He only got a few hundred feet into the forest before another explosion erupted in the canyon behind him. Tatsumi took a tentative glance backward, but he only saw smoke. Tatsumi knew that there was a strong possibility that there was someone in that ball of smoke, so in desperation, he set Lubbock down next to a tree.

Tatsumi quickly looked over Lubbock's wounds to see if they had gotten any worse from the short trip. They hadn t. Relieved, Tatsumi looked back at the way he came. His fist tightened on his sword before he leaned down to talk to Lubbock "Get going," he ordered, "I'm going to get everyone else out."

Lubbock clearly didn't like it, but he nodded, "Good luck."

Tatsumi also nodded, "You too."

Lubbock smirked, "Make sure you get to kiss Mine after you save her." the assassin joked.

Tatsumi suppressed the urge to groan. He was about to give out a rant to Lubbock, but the green-haired assassin s expression changed his mind instantly. Lubbock was looking at him, and his features were contorted into an expression of pure horror. Lubbock s lip was quivering, his entire body was shaking, and his eyes that were once filled with a cocky confidence were filled only with despair. In desperation to help his friend, Tatsumi put his hand on his shoulders. "Lubbock, what's wrong? Say something!"

Lubbock slowly raised his hand and pointed at something behind Tatsumi, "D-Daemon."

Tatsumi snapped his head around to look where Lubbock was pointing. He barely got halfway through the action when he felt something stab him in the back. It went straight through Incursio and cut through Tatsumi's stomach like they were made of paper. Tatsumi didn't even know what it even was, it looked like an insect leg with its sharp end barely touching the ground. It didn t seem like any weapon that any human would use, it looked more like a ligament of some sort of animal. The only thing that Tatsumi could recognize was the color. It looked sort of like the shield that Bois and the spikes that Ran's gun used. But those weapons were made of red crystal, this one was pure black with crimson red lighting the joint sections. Tatsumi felt the world start to blacken and fade around him, but if this was going to be his last moment in the land of the living, he was going to make sure he'd done something worth honoring his village. With the last of his strength, Tatsumi swung his blade around to whatever was attacking him. The sword connected with something, and as soon as it did, it shattered into a thousand pieces. Tatsumi couldn't see what he attacked through the growing black stops in his vision but that didn t stop him from hearing its voice, "_**Oh you are so cute, but trust us Tatsumi, you're going to have to do a lot better than that!**_"

Tatsumi heard a sloshing sound, like a large piece of bloody meat hitting the ground but Tatsumi couldn t worry about that now. The leg like weapon removed itself from Tatsumi s body and he fell to the ground. As he fell, Incursio faded from around him revealing his true identity to everyone who was left. Tatsumi worried about that for a second, but he probably wasn t going to live much longer so it didn t really matter. Tatsumi didn t even feel his face hitting the ground. In front of him, which was probably the last sight he would ever see in his life was a pale lifeless hand. Tatsumi s gaze traveled down the length of the arm to see who it belonged too. When he got to where the shoulder should have connected to the arm there was nothing. Just an open space filling with a pool of blood. It was rather curious, who would just cut off someone's arm and leave it there? Tatsumi blinked once and he realized something, he couldn t feel his right arm. Before he could put two and two together he coughed up blood and lost sight of the world around him. The only thing he felt when he fell asleep was a soft caress on his cheek, like a delicate hand of a beautiful woman, was comforting him while he died.

"_**Shush, don't worry about fighting the empire Tatsumi. Everything is going to be dead soon.**_"

Some part of Tatsumi's mind, the last piece of his existence that wanted to keep living, was screaming to run. But everything else in his body just wanted to lay there and sleep for a bit. Just one small rest here, that wouldn t be so bad, would it?

_Just, wake me up when you need me Mine. I'll finish this mission for you so you can get back to your stupid beauty sleep._

With that, the last conscious thought of the human named Tatsumi of Night Raid, whispered its ways into the shadows of the world.

"_**Hahahahah. Now Lubbock, can we talk? After all, it's your turn to watch me.**_"

**A few Moments Earlier**

As yet another boulder was crushed into dust, the Empire's Strongest general thrust her rapier into the ground to slow herself to a stop. All around her, the landscape was little more than a pale reflection of what it was only a minute ago. Several slashes had remade the cliff side into a series of broken boulders and fissures. Shards of ice were thrown everywhere, covering the battlefield in an almost misty wonder. Esdeath felt something pull at the edges of her face, but the muscles of her face could only allow her to smile so big. Esdeath just couldn t help herself, the day had finally come and it was perfection. She had only been fighting for a few minutes, but it was everything she dreamed it would be. In those few minutes, a mountain had been cracked in two, hundreds of advanced soldiers have been torn apart like they were nothing but trash. And to top it all off, neither her nor her opponent had landed even a single hit on one another. To fight a Ghoul, the Eyepatch that went to war against both the CCG and Aogiri Tree with no worry about what would happen to him was more than exciting. It was something that Esdeath thought she wouldn t feel again.

Fear.

The natural instinct of fear when fighting the devil.

The fear of losing a fight.

It was an amazing remembrance, and Esdeath couldn't stop smiling from that fact that she could still feel like this.

A sound like a crashing meteor landing next to her caused Esdeath to shift into a battle position. The monster that created the crash slowly stood up, its frame silhouetted by the dust. One of the many legs attached to its back swiped through the air, clearing the dust away. Kaneki stood and stared at her behind a black mandible like helm that covered his face, but kept the white glow of both his eyes open for the world to see. In his hand, a crimson broadsword, made from the blood of the fallen Advanced Soldiers glinted in the sunlight.

Esdeath twisted her rapier slightly so that the sun would glint off its edge as well. Kaneki's eyes were filled with primal fury at the sight of the rapier, why wouldn't he be angry to see it? It was proof. Living true proof that Touka was here in this world, and that she was being tortured to make those,_ fucking THINGS!_ Kaneki s left hand snapped to his eye and his body convulsed causing his eight legs to freak out and scrap at the ground in a frenzy.

The action caused Esdeath to chuckle slightly "Do you want to know something Kaneki?"

Kaneki didn't answer the question, but Esdeath didn't expect him to. He was so far gone that she doubted he could hear anything over the sound of his own insanity. But nevertheless, this was something that needed to be said.

"Do you remember that day? Before your precious home was built, before you made your second greatest mistake, before all of this. Do you remember?"

This time, the question garnered a response from the ghoul. His head snapped around so that he could stare at Esdeath behind one white eye "Do you remember the day, that you threatened to kill me?"

Behind the white eyes and the searing pain, Kaneki nodded once.

**About Two and a half Years Ago (The Unfinished site of Anteiku)**

_Kaneki tapped his pencil on the side of his head, this part was annoying him more than it should. A rock came flying out from seemingly nowhere and headed straight for Kaneki. Without even looking at the incoming stone Kaneki raised his other hand and caught the rock as easily a child catching a ball. He glanced up from his notebook to the construction site before him. One of the men was sweating profusely and the lack of anyone standing near him and the sledgehammer in his hands made everything clear. Kaneki raised an eyebrow at the man, who put on a nervous grin as means of apology. Kaneki threw the rock away and after catching the sound of a relieved sigh, the sounds of construction continued._

_Kaneki was currently sitting against the building which, once everything was finished, would be on the opposite of Anteiku. He found an old notebook that the head manager didn t want any more. So Kaneki took a pencil and the notebook and began writing down everything he would need when Anteiku was opened. A list of coffee s, treats, Kaneki made a note to look up what people around here liked for the average snack. The work needed to be done, but Kaneki s mind drifted when he wrote the name of the store, Anteiku._

_This was the place where he felt at home, the place that he needed to protect from everything so that his loved ones could live here in peace. His memories started to flow and before he knew it he began writing about that day in the cafe when he first met Rize. The date, the night, the operation, along with waking up and being unable to eat anything._

_When he finally caught himself writing, he nearly tore the pages out of the notebook. Those were memories of another life, another world, another failure. But something stopped him from doing that. As he wrote, he remembered more than just the failures. The conversations with Hide. The laughs with Koma and Irimi, the reading lessons with Hinami. Eating tips with the manager and finally, late night shifts with Touka. That memory stopped Kaneki from writing, almost even breathing entirely. If any regret was greater than the others, it was the memory of Touka on that bridge. Until that point, he was sure that he was doing it all for others, but Touka._

_Touka told him the truth_ "You pretend to care about others but in the end, it s all about you. You re just scared of being alone again aren t you?"

_Kaneki felt the pencil leave his hand._

"You want nothing more than self-satisfaction, it's all so stupid."

_He felt his teeth bite against his cheek and his hand clenched into a fist._

"TRASH LIKE YOU DOESN T BELONG AT ANTEIKU!"

_Kaneki's entire body suddenly relaxed as the final memory came._

"Why? Why did you have to change?"

_Kaneki opened his mouth as if to answer but something grabbed his shoulder. He reacted instantly, swinging his leg the long way around his body to strike at whoever touched him. His attack sailed over the head of his attack who swiftly ducked to avoid the blow. Kaneki regained his footing and faced his attacker but he relaxed when he saw who it was "You shouldn't sneak up on people with tight nerves, Esdeath."_

_The ice general in question shrugged her shoulders, "I know, but I do it anyway."_

_Kaneki rolled his eyes before picking up his notebook from the ground and sitting back down, "Why are you even here?"_

_Esdeath raised and eyebrow, "What? Is it too abnormal for a General to stop by to talk to a friend on her hour off?"_

_Kaneki didn t respond, he just opened up his notebook and continued writing. His silence brought an amused laugh out of Esdeath, "And people say that I m cold."_

_She glanced over his shoulder to see what he was writing. She read the first few lines of the story but one word kept repeating "Tokyo?"_

_Kaneki glanced back at her and nodded, "Yeah, Tokyo."_

_Esdeath thought for a moment, "I've never heard of a village named Tokyo."_

_"And I doubt you ever will." Kaneki said, "It's not exactly known by anyone. For the simple reason that it doesn't exist." _

_In _this_ world anyway._

_Esdeath took a seat beside Kaneki, much to his annoyance but he said nothing, "So, why is the mysterious, mighty Kaneki writing about a fictional city that no one has ever heard of when he has a home and life that need planning?" she asked._

_Kaneki stopped writing and thought carefully about what he was going to say next. He was never going to tell Esdeath that Tokyo was his home, the place where his entire life was. All of the studying, the awkward twitches that defined him back then. The fights, the friends. So what to say here? Not the truth, but writing these memories made Kaneki feel calm and at home for the first time since his first days back at Anteiku. He wanted to, no, needed to keep writing but he couldn t tell the truth._

_"It's the start of a book." Kaneki said at last "I might eventually have a business to take care of, but a hobby will be a good distraction to pass the time."_

_Esdeath looked interested, "What's it going to be about?"_

_Kaneki raised an eyebrow, "You just expect me to have an entire novel planned even though I only started writing it today?"_

_Esdeath smirked but said nothing, copying Kaneki s silence from earlier. Probably for the soul purpose to annoy him. Kaneki turned back to his notebook and continued writing "It's about men, monsters, and pain."_

_"Sounds serious. Nothing that the empire s going to censor?"_

_Kaneki almost laughed, "The empire does worse things every other Wednesday than what's going to happen in this book."_

_Kaneki stopped writing when he felt a wave of killing intent beside him, "I never said what the empire does isn't necessary Esdeath." Kaneki said, quickly defending himself. Truth be told, he didn't believe a word of what he just said but on the same token, he didn't care. The empire could keep burning itself into the ground, but at least do it when Kaneki didn't have to be around to clean any of the ashes. Kaneki knew that eventually he would be fed up with the empire but the last time he tried to change something for the better. Well, someone would read about it eventually._

_The killing intent slowly went down as Esdeath calmed herself, and a good thing too. By the construction site, a few of the workers looked like they were scared shitless from something but none of them knew what. Despite being right next to the source, Kaneki barely even flinched. It felt like he was being stalked by a ghoul who thought they were looking at a nice, tasty, innocent little meal. Those situations usually ended with Kaneki getting an extra snack in before dinner. He glanced at Esdeath, "Are you done?"_

_She rolled her eyes "I didn t even start something so how can I even be done?" she asked playfully._

_Kaneki rolled his eyes and said nothing. After a minute of silence Esdeath got up and stretched, "Well if you're never going to give a lady the time she deserves, I guess I better get going. You'll tell me when the place is ready?"_

_"You have the construction permits," Kaneki said without looking up._

_Esdeath smiled, "You know what I mean."_

_She started walking away but stopped just before she could turn the corner to leave._

_"Kaneki,"_

_The ghoul in question only stopped writing to signify that he heard, it felt as if the air around the two had gotten heavier, "Remember that this was a single kindness, it can easily be taken away. The house, and everything else I might want to take". Esdeath threatened._

_Kaneki slowly set down his pencil and put his thumb over his index finger. He quickly pressed down and a loud snap rang through the street, and a wave of killing intent, so large that it put Esdeath s earlier one to shame radiated out of Kaneki. A few of the construction workers screamed before looking around desperately to find something. The few people walking down the street, just trying to get on with their day picked up their pace and ran like frightened animals._

_"_**You won t get the chance to try.**_" Kaneki threatened back._

_Esdeath didn t look back at the white haired man, she only let out a chuckle and a smile, "Then I look forward to the day that I have that chance."_

**Present**

Esdeath smiled at the memory, "Two years. Two years I ve waited for this fight. Two years I've held back all the times I could have told you. To anyone else, I wouldn t have done a thing. Do you want to know why I made an exception for you?"

She didn t wait for an answer, not that there was going to be one in the first place, "It's because you are strong, Kaneki." Esdeath said, "You understand the need to hunt and kill the weak. For the weak to die and become fuel for the strong is the natural order of life. You, you know that better than anyone in this world other than I. How many ghouls did you devour to become like this? Huh? How many CCG officers did you break to perfect your fighting style? How many weak fools did you rip from the world since you arrived? Tell me, how does it feel Kaneki! How does it feel to be the strongest!?"

Kaneki let out a roar and charged Esdeath, sword and Kagune at the ready. Esdeath jumped backward just in time to avoid being crushed by four of Kaneki s kagune. With the snap of her finger, Esdeath created an iceberg the size of the average house and forced it atop of Kaneki. Kaneki didn t even turn his head to the approaching ice if anything he only looked annoyed behind the white madness. As the ice got close, several of Kaneki s kagune shot out to protect him. The legs of the centipede crashed into the ice and with a single, mighty slash, shattered the ice into a thousand pieces. Kaneki didn t wait for the shards of ice to fall to the ground. He rushed to Esdeath, swinging his blood broadsword in crazy, wild arcs. They had no form, no sense of technique or aim. They only had a purpose. To cut Esdeath in two. Esdeath dodged each of the strikes like a dancer, but then, she made the mistake of trying to block one. Esdeath was notorious for being able to overpower anyone, whether it be physical prowess or skill, so she knew when she was beaten in terms of strength. She was never going to make the mistake of trying to block Kaneki s kagune, a single hit from even one of those would be enough to bring even Budo down if they hit directly. So, the Kagune was out of the question, the physical body of Kaneki however, was not. While he no doubt was capable of giving anyone in the Imperial Army a run for their money in something like an arm wrestling competition, there was only so much stronger a ghoul could be after three years of lazy innocence. Esdeath didn t know how Kaneki made his sword, an Imperial Arm perhaps? It was a wild card but Esdeath wasn t too worried about it. It was made out of condensed blood, and no matter how powerful the Arm, blood could only become so dense. It was, after all, only a liquid. But Esdeath forgot one important thing. Kaneki was desperate to kill her. So desperate in fact that he was willingly throwing his humanity away to get the power to kill her and the empire. There is a saying, you don t fight a man who has nothing left to lose. The same goes for ghouls as well.

Kaneki was desperate to kill Esdeath, and a desperate mind learns all of its advantages very, very quickly. The moment Kaneki s blade touched Esdeath s it seemed to shift before passing right through Esdeath s blade like it wasn t even there. Esdeath s eyes widened as the blade solidified itself behind her guard and slashed right down her chest. She was lucky to be fast enough to back away from the blade so she only received a scratch on her stomach.

But even she wasn t fast enough to dodge the kick that followed directly after the slash. Kaneki had twisted his body to inhuman lengths in order to plant a kick right on Esdeath s head that could take the head off a danger beast. Esdeath made a wall of ice between her and the kick. The force of the kick went straight through the ice, barely even slowing down at the cold interference. But it slowed it down enough for Esdeath to move her head just out of range from the kick. But Kaneki didn t stop with just a swipe and a kick. As soon as his kick failed, his kagune sprang to life to redeem his action. Seven, razor sharp appendages shot out like bullets at Esdeath s exposed body. If it were any other opponent, Kaneki would have skewered them alive. But as powerful as Kaneki s attacks were, they were erratic, unfocused and mad with no sense of either skill or technique. Which meant they were quite easy to intercept.

Esdeath s rapier became a blur as she redirected each of the Kagune. With the barest of movements, Esdeath sent each of the kagune into the space around her. All seven were accounted for and Esdeath could only grin as she thrust her quinque rapier at Kaneki s eye. Kaneki only blankly stared at the sharpened edge and Esdeath tasted both victory and disappointment. For all of that bravado, all of that rage and the mysterious Imperial Arm Kaneki had at his disposal, he was just a passing fancy. The instant before the rapier pierced Kaneki s head, he did something no one should be able to do. He looked his death coming right at him.

And he smiled like it was a god-send miracle.

The action confused Esdeath, but not as much as the pain erupting on her foot. She glanced down and found one of Kaneki s kagune piercing her foot and keeping her from moving. Esdeath s eyes widened and Kaneki s grin was clear. He wasn t laughing at his own death, he was laughing that Esdeath made a rookie mistake. She had forgotten to account for the simple fact that Kaneki had nine Kagune at his disposal as of right now. Eight legs, and one giant tail that he didn t seem to use. His attack was planned near perfectly, seven would distract Esdeath while the eighth went through the ground to pin her in place. Even if she was pinned, Esdeath wasn t going to let this chance slip past. She continued her thrust and Kaneki s survival instincts wiped the grin off his face. The tip was about to hit his skull, and he remembered that kind of pain. Kaneki s flashed to that fight in the sewer, he remembered screaming at no one as his eye was gouged out of him. Even after that he kept fighting, and then, the other eye joined its brother and Kaneki didn t feel the pain anymore. It was then that his mistakes were shown to him, finally, at the moment of his death did he finally remember what kind of human he once was. The kind of man that everyone but Kaneki wanted him to be.

No. He wasn t going to feel that kind of pain ever again. That man was weak, but Kaneki wasn t weak now was he? No, he wasn t that stuttering worthless fool who couldn t save anyone. He was the SS- ranked ghoul that both species feared, for his strength, his will and influence. And his drive to kill everything that stood in his way.

The blade was too close to dodge completely, he couldn t stop it from hitting his head. But that didn t mean he couldn t choose which part it was going to hit. The muscles in Kaneki s neck screamed as they moved far faster than they were meant to as Kaneki turned his head to the side. The tip of the blade pierced his cheek, cracking the kagune armor on its way. It went through the cheek and through the other and then, Kaneki did something no sane man would ever do. He bit down on Esdeath s rapier stopping its path in an instant. When Esdeath felt her attack go cold, she stared at Kaneki s unflinching form as his teeth dug into the blade. The two stood there in their respective deadlock with no sound around them other than the short bursts of explosions that signaled the direction of the Jaeger s battle with Night Raid. Kaneki slowly looked back at Esdeath, causing the rapier to cut his cheek in two. Behind him, the giant tail like kagune shuddered in anticipation and Kaneki said one thing in a voice that didn t belong to a man.

_**"Die for us."**_

The giant tail whipped around and Esdeath put up every structure of Ice she could in between herself and the tail. The walls of fully formed ice sprouted from the ground and just to be perfectly safe, a thin ring of ice around her body for armor. It didn t stop the sound of snapping bones from filing the air. Kaneki s attack hit Esdeath s ice shield and slamming into the general. Esdeath felt all of her senses go into overdrive as all of her breath was forced out of her, and her entire body went into shock as the pain threshold was surpassed completely. She was thrown to the side from the force of the attack, the Kagune anchor in her foot completely ripping the limb apart from the rest of the body. The small layer of ice that surrounded her body operated as a cocoon as Esdeath tumbled along the ground before hitting the side of a hill, destroying the mass of rock on impact.

Kaneki slowly tilted his head at the growing dust cloud from the attack. The eight limbs around him scampered around and the giant tail wrapped itself around his body, slowly crushing him. A quick motion from his head brought a loud snap that rang through the area. Something stirred in the dust and Kaneki s entire form twitched She's not dead? No, _unacceptable._ **_SHE NEEDS TO BE DEAD!_**

Kaneki launched himself into the air and with a mighty swing brought down his kagune down on the area. He only felt the sensation of thousands of rocks shatter in an instant. He didn t feel the sweat, gushing of a body being splattered on the floor like the food that it was. Kaneki's left hand snapped and slammed against his eye so hard it drew blood "_What are you thinking!? This isn't us don't you remember!? That lying bastard is turning you into the thing that they wanted. Don't you remember what we were like?_"

Kaneki dropped his blood cutlass and cupped his hands in his head. He sank to the ground shivering like a child in the cold and all around him, his kagune went wild. It smashed, it cut, it destroyed everything that was within reach.

"_We weren't some mindless killing machine! The voice screamed We didn t kill humans! Yes, some humans deserve to die but think about people like Hide, Amon-san, anyone who showed us kindness or respect even after we became this!_"

Kaneki gritted his teeth until he felt blood "**SHUT UP!**" He screamed, "**WHAT DO YOU KNOW!**"

"_I know what Touka-chan wanted for us, what the manager wanted, what Hide wanted, WHAT EVERYONE WANTED BUT US!_"

"Shut up! Did Touka-chan want to be ripped apart? Did she want us to be put through what we went through? No, she's going through worse. We lived through ten days, how long has she been going through this? _We need to save her, we need to get her out of there. Protect her, s**o that nothing can hurt her again!**"_

Kaneki charged forward through the fading dust running around the hill. He needed to find Esdeath, she has to be a meal. A nice piece of her would be a good snack for Touka. Oh yes, an arm? A leg? Kaneki couldn t decide but he didn t care, she needed to die she wouldn t care which part of her was taken!

"_And becoming the thing she hates is worth all of that?_" a voice behind him asked.

Kaneki froze instantly. His entire body became rigid and the only thing that moved was the wind through his hair. Slowly he turned around and standing in the middle of the battlefield was him. Except, it wasn t the crazed, mad form of the centipede. It was him, as a human living with the body of a ghoul. His hair was black and he wore the Anteiku waiter uniform and over his left eye was a white eyepatch. But he looked like hell, his uniform was torn in several places and a large cut went down his chest. He also had a piece of his head missing like someone had taken a bite out of him. But despite all of those injuries he looked to be at complete peace in the middle of the destroyed battleground. He stepped forward, with a hand in companionship "_Kaneki, remember that day on the bridge? Our last memories of Touka-chan and we only have the visions of her screaming at us, cursing our name and simply asking why? If we re going to rescue Touka, please, let it be the way that she remembers us as._"

Kaneki only stared at himself, breathing in deep breaths through the black armor. He looked at himself, the suit, the kagune, and that tail. All of them were screaming silent words of carnage, of death and destruction that all ghouls live for. To eat, or be eaten, the ghoul is the beast that reminds humans that they aren t at the top of the food chain. But, Kaneki wasn t a ghoul. He was a human turned into one by the madness of an insane doctor who wanted to create something that he called perfect. Kaneki fought the urge to kill, to eat for as long as he could. But then he became aware of reality, he became aware how the world really works. Good deeds, good people, those don t exist. The only reality of the world was that the strong got to survive and do what they wanted while the weak could only crawl along the ground. But if someone was strong, they could protect the weak so that they could live the lives that they wanted. So that s what Kaneki did, he became strong. So that Hinami could just read books in peace, Hide could live away from the ghouls and the CCG. And so that Touka could live a normal life because Because

Wait. Were those really the reasons?

Kaneki didn t really remember that part anymore. Was it so that she would be safe against Aogiri? So that no ghoul or human would ever dare attack her for fear of what might happen to them if they do? Kaneki thought that was the reason, but then she screamed at him to leave, to never come back. He just didn t want to be alone anymore, so, were those the reasons? And were they right? Kaneki looked back at the old him, who despite everything they had gone through, still wanted to help the both of them. He had forsaken him, thrown him away, and eaten the remains. But here he stands. Kaneki reached out to him and the old him smiled. As he reached for the old him, and as he moved the Kagune armor around him began to peel off his skin, he smiled a real smile. Memories washed over him.

"_Hide._

_Manager._

_Hinami._

_Touka, just wait a little bit longer, I'm coming home._"

The dull thud of something hitting his hand broke Kaneki out of his thoughts. He looked around him and right beside him was the small ice shard._** Esdeath.**_

Kaneki felt anger seethe through him in waves as he looked around for the source. Finally, he saw something atop the hill above him. Esdeath stood surrounded by giant shards of ice that floated just above the ground as they circled her form like autonomous shields. Her foot was surrounded by a thin layer of ice to stop the bleeding as well as keeping the appendage attached to her. An animalistic growl escaped his throat before he launched himself at her. As soon as he got close one of the ice shards flew at him. A part of his head screamed for his kagune to act, to smash through the ice so that he could go on unhindered. Kaneki s kagune reacted, but instead of protecting Kaneki s body, moved away so that the ice had a clear shot to his side. Kaneki s eyes widened a second before the ice slammed into his side causing him to fly off course. He landed hard on the ground below, but the ghoul barely felt the impact before scrambling on all fours trying to turn himself around. As soon as he did, another ice shard was launched at him. This time, his Kagune reacted how it was supposed to and swatted the ice away. Kaneki launched himself at Esdeath again, but the ice general just disappeared in the cloud of dust leaving Kaneki chasing nothing.

The half ghoul growled in anger, "**WHERE ARE YOU ESDEATH!? _WE_ NEED TO KILL YOU!**"

Kaneki's head snapped around, like an animal looking for his prey. But he saw nothing, nothing moved in the dust and even the good doctor had left his perch to escape Kaneki s wrath. Kaneki growled in anger, this wasn t how it was supposed to go! He was supposed to kill Esdeath, rip her apart and feed Touka the pieces! His body tensed as something moved in the corner of his vision. Kaneki s Kagune shot out with the intent to destroy whatever moved. He smiled as he felt his arms cut clean through flesh and pierced bone. Kaneki turned to his prey, and a wicked grin spread across his face as he saw a punctured and bleeding Esdeath. A chuckle came out of him, then a laugh, then a mad cackle that caused Kaneki to throw his head back "**IS THAT ALL!? _IS THAT ALL YOU HAD?!_**"

Something hit the back of Kaneki's head, answering his question and annoying the hybrid even more. He turned to look at what hit him, and his eyes widened at what he saw. Esdeath, alive and well, standing and laughing at him! Kaneki roared and his Kagune ripped Esdeath apart, but when the dust settled another Esdeath ran at him with her rapier drawn. And she wasn t the only one. As Kaneki watched, another Esdeath appeared out of the dust, then another, and another, and another they just kept coming!

Kaneki charged forward, and when he got to any of the Esdeath s he ripped into them. His hands split her body. His teeth tore her in half. And his Kagune smashed anything that was left into pieces. But she wouldn t stop. With each Esdeath he killed another just seemed to pop out of the ground. Each time he would kill her, and each time she would die, laughing.

"Stop it!" Kaneki roared STOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTO_PITSTO**PITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPIT**!** STOP LAUGHING AT US!**_

Kaneki s Kagune went wild, his eight arms tearing into everything that moved or might move. The ground around him quickly cracked and soon Kaneki was in the center of his own deepening dust cloud. But no matter how much noise his arms made, how many times they killed that bitch, the laughing didn t stop. It kept growing, and growing, and growing! Kaneki s hands shot to his head, his fingernails digging into his skull going so far as to draw blood. But it didn t matter, the more pain he felt the quieter the laughter got.

"_**We can stop them from laughing.**_"

Kaneki s head snapped up at the sound. It was soft, comforting, and full of power that couldn t be described with mortal words. Kaneki s lips watered with anticipation as he asked "Re-Really?"

"_**Oh yes, we can make it all go away.**_"

Kaneki's lips twitched until a smile formed itself, "What do I need to do?"

In the back of his mind, Kaneki heard something laugh, but he didn't care. The Ketsueki Shinigami pulsed on his arm and the black tattoo slowly crept up his arm, covering it completely, and his chest, his face and it felt, good. Kaneki looked up to heaven and screamed. All around him the blood of the defeated Esdeath's shot into the air like each drop was its own geyser. They covered the sky, turning the clear blue sky into a crimson night. On any other day, the sight would have terrified him. But today, it looked like the roof of heaven. In that red sky, cracks started to appear. They spread like spider webs across the sky and before Kaneki's very eyes, the glassy red sky of the world crashed into him.

**Under the Empire**

Touka winced when something made a snapping sound right next to her ear. While her binds stopped her from moving her arms and legs, she could still move her head. She slowly strained her neck to look at the source of the snapping. As soon as her eyes focused on the source of the sound, seating anger roared through her. The man in the clown mask laughed behind his mask "How are you doing my dear? Comfortable?"

Touka lashed out with her hand, aiming to punch the clown with all the strength she had left. It was almost like the clown rolled his eyes behind the mask as he raised a hand. He effortlessly caught Touka s blow and made a tsk-tsk gesture with his free hand, "Well, aren't you a bad girl. Do you know what happens to bad girls?"

Touka took in a deep breath, the intent to scream at the man. But before the words could form in her mouth, the clown crushed down her hand with so much force that every bone in her hand broke. Touka screamed in pain, but even that was cut short as the clown slammed her head into the ground, hard enough to smash her nose and draw blood from her eye. The clown repeated the process of smashing her head into the ground until he got bored. He then lifted Touka's head off the ground by her hair, her forehead was bleeding badly and her left eye had a piece of kagune crystal logged into it

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a hypodermic needle attached to a syringe. When Touka saw the syringe, her eyes widened in horror. The action only caused the Kagune in her eye to go deeper into her eye and the clown to laugh even louder "Oh don t worry, you re a ghoul. You shouldn t be scared of something like a needle."

His laughing stopped abruptly "But, on the other hand, you actually should be scared. Thanks to the research of my good friend Jason, may his soul burn in hell, I can stick this in you and inject the little surprise. Want to know what it is?"

Touch didn t move, any action on her part hurt. The clown rolled his head and sighed in exhaustion "Fine, want to play it like that? Ok."

He gently set her head down on the floor before helping her to sit up next to the wall. The clown forced Touka into a seated position, or as good as one that he could with her restraints still on. As soon as she was seated, the clown gently stroked Touka's face. Touka s entire body convolved in repulsion at his touch. The clown removed his hand and Touka thought that was the end of it.

Before he put a finger on the kagune shard lodged into her eye.

Then. He pushed it in a little further.

Touka screamed with all the strength that she had left. The clown laughed with sick satisfaction before running the hypodermic needle into the mucous membrane of Touka s undamaged eye. It hurt, more than words can describe but Touka didn t have any strength left to scream. The clown pushed small knob, forcing the liquid into Touka s system. As soon as it was empty, the clown quickly took it out of her eye and threw it aside "Well, that s the last of the RC represent that I managed to bring over. If it was any other lab, that might prove to be a problem. After all, how is the good doctor supposed to play with his favorite pet if he can t cut her up first?"

He looked down, waiting for Touka to respond. But both of her eyes were bleeding badly, and her rate of healing was never fast enough to fix up damage that severe. So, Touka was reduced to just lying on the floor, blind and broken. The clown let out a sigh and leaned up against the wall that held Touka down. He drummed his fingers on his arm until he saw Touka start to move again "Do you want me to tell you something interesting?"

Touka didn t respond, but the clown didn t wait for her to do so.

"When I came to this," His head turned to look around his surroundings, "_Fabulous_ empire, I didn t just bring a few gallons of RC represent and a working knowledge of ghoul anatomy. No. I came here with specific orders from up above, the King actually."

He walked over to the girl, leaned down and picked up Touka's head so that she was forced to look at him.

"Want to know what those orders were?"

He moved Touka s neck up and down, forcibly making her nod yes, "Wonderful! I m glad that I get to spend time with a curious little bird like you."

With that, he promptly dropped Touka s head, causing it to hit the ground with a hard crack. The clown waved his hand in an effort to dispel Touka's soft groans of pain "Yes yes, it hurts, but remember love. Pain is necessary. But anyway, I was given a whole bunch of orders. But the biggest one of them all was the simplest. Make Ken Kaneki, stronger."

Behind his mask, the clown smiled as he watched Touka squirm at the sound of the hybrid abomination. It almost made him laugh, but if he laughed now, he wouldn t be able to breathe once he got to the best part.

"At first, I thought of a few ways," The clown said as he slowly walked around Touka, "Make him wake up in the middle of a desert and lead him to a village after months of starvation. Make him eat a city, and clear out some annoying assholes at the same time. Personally, I liked that option. But then the king was like, You can t go public it ll cause problems, make my boy toy stronger the right way blah blah blah! So, I was at an impasse, I had to follow orders, but I couldn t go public. Now though I could probably solo this entire fucking world like a boss, that involves effort and I really don t want to piss off the boss. So how do I complete my orders with those two conditions, even? The answer? Simple, get some fucked up Prime Minister to help your every move so that you can let him do all the paperwork while you just sit back and watch! They demanded compensation for the job, but then. he grinned down at Touka, That s what you re here for. One half science project, one-quarter rent money. And one quarter pleasure container."

Touka s good eye widened ever so slightly and the clown let out a snicker when he noticed the action "What? Did you think they didn't stick anything down there because they were trying to be nice?"

The clown let out a mad laugh as Touka s entire body struggled to get up, but the effort only caused her to open her wounds. Her head fell to the ground and her chest convulsed as she struggled for breath. The clown had the decency to wait for Touka to catch her breath before doing anything. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a now empty vial. He leaned down to show Touka, "But back to my mission," the clown continues "There are a bunch of normal ways to make Kaneki stronger but those are boring. Training or eating in excess will get the job done, but training will take to long and if too many people go away too fast, it will start to raise some questions. Now the people asking those questions might wake up with a knife stuck somewhere vital but that s not the important question. What is the important question? Well, it's what was in this vial?"

He turned the vial in his hand so Touka could get a complete view of the glass container. The only thing remarkable about it was the small amount of red liquid at the bottom of it. The clown pocketed the vial before sitting down next to Touka. He put a hand to his chin and smiled behind his mask "You probably don't really know much about science or advanced chemistry, given that I kind of." The clown makes a walking gesture with one hand before miming like he was snatching something off the ground. He even went as far as to act as if he had thrown something over his shoulder for effect "You know what I mean."

Touka didn't have the strength to cuss the sick bastard out, but her eyes still burned with primal fury. Touka hoped that the clown could see the hate in her eyes and the promise it brought along with it. Apparently, the clown didn t seem to care about Touka s gaze. If anything, it just made him continue his story with even more enthusiasm.

"If you travel around the world, and take a look around, you start to notice some really crazy shit. Take for instance the Ayahuasca vine of South America. Normally, it s used for a quote on quote Spiritual Awakenings . If you take a little, that s all that happens. You go into a coma-like sleep for maybe an hour or two and you wake up feeling completely refreshed."

The clown took a second to chuckle to himself before continuing "But if you mix the vine with a few extra chemicals, you start tripping balls in the worst kind of way. What once was a relaxed, becomes instant liquid insanity. But don't worry, even if it is injected it can't do much damage on its own. It needs something to, kick start it if you will."

The clown paused for dramatic effect "If the subject is angry, really angry at either themselves or an enemy, the chemical mixes with the released serotonin and it slowly starts wreaking havoc on the subject s nervous system. It happens because their nerves send signals in every direction, making them feel and see things that aren t even there. Now, the effects don t last long and the after effects kick in soon after the madness sets in. Think of this little concoction as the world's worst sedative. It puts your ass to sleep, but not before ripping your psyche a new one. Most likely subject will be physically fine after the effects of the drug, but the damage to their mental state is permanent. The chances of them being the same are roughly seventy to one, and only those with ironclad mental will and stability are in that small percentage. Of course, even if you inject a large amount, you need an equally strong trigger to activate the effects."

The clown leans down and picked up Touka's head "And do you want to know another interesting fact? Kaneki, he might be strong, but he was on the tipping point long before he had a sword shoved through his eye. He s a psychologist's worst nightmare. A single drop of this stuff would cause his mind to fragment and shatter. And just as another fun fact for you to enjoy, Esdeath s kagune rapier is drenched with this stuff. All she has to do is cut him once, and piss him off to get the desired effect."

Touka's eye widened as realization hit her, and the clown reached behind his mask,slowly pulling it off so Touka could see his face. The broken ghoul stared up at the man in horror while he simply smiled down at her, "Now, final question. If a single drop is enough to make even the strongest of people go on a rampage, how much do you think Kaneki will destroy after fighting a battle with someone like Esdeath? And, this is purely hypothetical speaking. But, if Esdeath were to say, mention how you were here, under the empire, being tortured endlessly while Kaneki lived a quiet life outside. How do you think he would react to that information?"

Touka's entire body started shaking and the clown laughed as he put his mask back on, "I think you re starting to see it now. I've completed my mission, and the only one who knows my face is locked up."

He patted Touka s head gently before setting it down on the ground "Rejoice Touka. For tonight, the Centipede grows wings and flies over the world of man."

The clown let out a sick, mad laugh as he slowly walked out of the prison. He stopped at the exit before he turned to look at Touka, "Rabbit, I actually have one last question. When Kaneki loses his mind, do you want me to bring him here so he can eat you?"

The madman laughed at his own joke before slamming the prison door shut, leaving Touka alone in the cell once again. She laid there for a second, then another before forcing her head to her knees. It was a painful movement, but it gave her the space to get her legs under her and then from there, she pulled herself into a sitting position. As soon as she was sitting upright, she let out pained breath after breath. Even that small amount of movement was agonizing, but it was still doable. For what felt like the millionth time, she looked at the chains binding her. Touka forced her head down, blocking it from her vision. She sat there, for what felt like forever and only one thought was running through her head.

_Kaneki, don t change again, please._

Touka felt a tear run down her cheek and she bit her lip in frustration. What the hell was she doing? Sitting in a cell while Kaneki was out fighting? But then again, that s what she always did. Kaneki was trying to protect them, and all she did to help was scream at him to leave, and sit on her ass while he killed himself, trying to help. The anger inside Touka built until she bared her teeth. Why. Why the fuck did he fight for her! She didn t need protecting! She didn t need a knight in shining armor! She needed a-!

"Touka-chan."

Touka s head snapped up instantly at the voice. It sounded just like-

_No._

_That s not possible._

As much as Touka s mind told her that it wasn t possible, the evidence stood directly in front of her. Kaneki stood before her, in his Anteiku uniform with that stupid eyepatch over his eye. He looked well fed, a fine layer of muscle rippling underneath the soft fabric. His features were more mature then Touka remembered, but given that she hadn t seen his face in years, that could be expected. His hair was neatly combed.

And it was black, just as she remembered it.

He slowly approached Touka, taking care not to step in any of the rotting food. His face was one of horror, not at the room, but of the state that Touka was in. He knelt down and brushed a drying drop of blood off of Touka s face. She shivered at the touch and Kaneki flinched his hand back, "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

Touka shook her head weakly, "No you idiot, you didn't hurt me."She let out a weak laugh" And stop apologizing, shitty Kaneki."

Kaneki had the nerve to smile at her, "It's good to see you too Touka-chan."

He looked up at the chains and took a step back, "Give me a minute, I'll have you out of those chains in a second."

Touka gave out a weak nod, "Don't worry about those, take your time. I'm just glad you're alive."

She closed her eyes and waited for her arms to fall weakly to her side. She waited for a second. Then another. Then another. But nothing happened.

"Are you really glad I'm alive?"

Touka s eye shot open again, and she nearly screamed at the sight before her.

Kaneki stood in front of her, but it wasn t the Kaneki she remembered. He had pure white hair, a deep scar running over his face and both of his eyes. Blood covered a black body suit that was torn in several place revealing gruesome wounds. The worst was his side, it was completely torn open like he had been completely cut open in a fight. As Touka continued to look, his form continued to deteriorate. His eyes slowly gouged themselves, becoming bloody hollow slits that started gushing out rivers of blood. The blood flowed down his face, creating the illusion of tears. Behind him, his Kagune shot out, causing four tails to appear. They thrashed violently before coming to tear Kaneki. The kagune arms struck him, taking chunks of his leg, his arm, his chest, everything. And through it all, Kaneki just stood there, accepting his fate. He took a step forward with broken, bloody feet, and the action only caused Touka to crawl against the wall. Desperately trying to get away.

But she couldn t.

Before she could even utter a scream Kaneki s hand shot out for her neck. His broken fingers wrapped around the weakened flesh of her neck, and slowly, they began to squeeze. Touka struggled to breathe as Kaneki effortlessly picks her up. He leans in, close enough that Kaneki could have kissed her. But he only smiled, and leaned in again, right next to her ear "_**We just wanted to become stronger to protect you. We only wanted you to be safe and be proud of us! So tell us. Are you proud Touka? Are you proud of what we became for you?!**_"

Touka thrashed, she kicked, she moved with all the strength she had left, but Kaneki s grip was like iron. She somehow managed to take a breath through Kaneki s fingers.

And she screamed for all she was worth.

From the lab, the clown smiled as he looked down at Touka s thrashing form from within the prison. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another vial of clear liquid. On the vail, it was clearly labeled RC Suppression

"Oops." The clown said, "I think I might have injected the wrong fluid into the rabbit."

He glanced back down in the prison, just as Touka s crazed thrashes and screams of pain grew in intensity and ferocity. The clown shrugged and pocketed the vial, "Oh, I m sure she ll be fine."

He slowly made his way out of the lab and up the stairs. It would normally be a long walk, but the clown was extra chipper today. He almost skipped up the stairs to get to the top as fast as he could. Exiting through the secret door in the study he made his way through the room before stopping in the center. A chill ran down the clown s back, the kind of chill that you only get when someone s about to kill you. He chuckled slightly before putting his hands up in mock surrender. "Arrest me copper!" he screams without even a hint of discretion.

The clown glanced to the side, and the air shimmered. It looked like someone was unraveling the world itself as a something uncurled around a man. At first, the clown could only see his head, but then the unraveling continued, revealing a torso, then finally a set of legs. The man was of average height and build, but how many times has a Ghoul been underestimated because some rookie thought that build mattered in a fight? He wore a blood red business suit with a white tie and covering his face was a blank red mask that perfectly matched his suit. His Kagune finished uncurling around him, allowing him to step forward towards the clown. The clown lowered his hands and bowed respectfully to the man in red. While the clown would never dream of lowering his head to another, other than the king, this man deserved his respect. The man drenched in the blood of those he has killed, the greatest assassin the organization had at its disposal and the third most powerful ghoul on the planet.

The Clown had to suppress a laugh at the thought, "_Third most powerful for now._"

Even looking upon him now, The Clown felt a sting of jealousy at seeing the red man s kagune. A single tail, with the ability to reflect and manipulate light to show whatever the user wishes. A weak weapon in a normal fair fight, but when you can turn yourself completely invisible to the naked eye, you don t get into many fair fights. The clown straightened as the Red Man approached "Red,"the clown said in the most respectful tone he could manage, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Red Man said nothing, he just turned his head to the secret door. The clown tapped his fingers against his side as he waited for the Red Man to talk again. After what felt like an eternity to the clown, the Red Man finally turned back to him, "I distinctly remember the King ordering you to be discrete." The Red man's voice was harsh, but not through intention. It was like someone had replaced his vocal cords with sand paper and expected him to talk as easily as everyone else. According to rumor, the Red Man had gained this grizzly voice after he failed to kill a target. Normally a failure like this would make him the laughing stock of the organization, it only increased his reputation of being a near perfect escape artist. After all, how many people can escape from a harmless old Cafe owner and live? If you laughed at that, you obviously haven t seen a certain owl in action.

The Clown shrugged as innocently as he could "I have been discrete."

"Poisoning the mind of a fellow Ghoul for shits and giggles is hardly discreet."

If the Clown's mask allowed for his eyes to be seen, his glare would have set the Red Man on fire. The clown was just doing his job if Red had a problem with it Well. The clown had already broken one ghoul today, why there?

"I thought," The Clown said through gritted teeth "That she was just for tax. Besides, she's broken and imprisoned. What's she going to do? Increase the body count?"

"The King's thoughts have changed," The Red Man started "The new orders are for her to remain unbroken for the time being. The Red Man glanced down the corridor as the echoes of a scream came up through the tunnel, But since you injected her with half a vial of the fluid, I doubt there s a sane thought left in her."

The Clown rolled his eyes and sighed "Well if the King actually wanted her for something, then you should have delivered the new orders sooner."

"This declaration was made mere moments ago." The Red Man said matter of factly. "I came as fast as the winds allowed."

The Clown let out a soft groan, but if the Red Man heard, he didn t give out any reaction. The Clown turned away and started walking down the hallway of the castle. He didn t hear the Red Man s footsteps behind him, but it was clear that he was following him. The constant feeling that you re being watched by something you can t see is always a good sign that the Red Man is watching you. The Clown walked like a man on a mission, and any guards or soldiers that saw him instantly turned away. One soldier did look for a little longer then he was supposed to, but the killing intent that the Clown was putting out towards him was more than enough to cause him to drop on the spot. As The Clown entered the courtyard, he jumped thirty feet into the air to land atop the castle wall where the Red Man was waiting for him. The Clown landed without a sound indicating his presence. He glanced at the Red Man before asking the important question "So, what are our orders now?"

The Red Man looked out over the city before answering, "We are to initiate the first stage."

"Ohhh!? Already?" The Clown said in giddy surprise.

The Red Man nodded once, "Yes, from what the humans have been able to gather, the first stage must be completed before they retrieve the fallen Centipede, Ken Kaneki."

He glanced at the Clown, "The King sends the compliments required for a mission well done to that regard. To quote, 'the use of the human's is... enjoyable'."

The Clown smiled, "Hopefully, you could use that compliment to bargain for your life after we return from this mission." The clown's smile disappeared instantly.

The Clown stepped forward so that he was next to the Red Man", Well if the King does kill me after this mission, I have one last thing to say to you. And, remember my friend, this comes from the heart."

The Red Man tilted his head slightly, waiting for an answer, "Fuck you, you cock sucking bastard."

The Red Man nearly sighed at the Clown s answer. In fairness, he probably shouldn t have expected anything different. Both Ghouls turned their heads to a sound in the distance. Over towards the mountains, a cloud of smoke and dust was slowly flying into the breeze. Clearly, either someone was having the world's earliest bonfire.

Or someone was fighting.

The Clown looked at the Red Man, and through their two masks, the two men shared a nod. They jumped into the air, over buildings and people to reach their destination. After all, they had work to do.

**?**

Kaneki's head shot up and he looked around. It didn t even take a second to know that he wasn t at the mountain base of Night Raid anymore. For one thing, above him, the sky was completely white and all around him red flowers covered every inch of available space. He was sitting on a wooden chair and he was wearing his black battle uniform. But as he watched, the gray outlines of this suit slowly turned from white to red.

"Where am I?" he asked to no one.

Nothing answered him, but Kaneki expected that to be the response. With nothing better to do, he began to make his way through the flowered covered landscape. As he walked, Kaneki glanced behind him. There was no indication that he d even moved a step other than the rapidly fading sight of the chair in the distance. Other than that, there was nothing. If this was a normal field, his footsteps through the flowers would ve made a path from here he came. He kept walking in a straight line for what felt like hours, but still he found nothing. The entire world was the same in every single detail. Kaneki glanced behind him, and any semblance of a path that he might have created through the flowers had vanished. Kaneki turned his head back and suddenly, there was something in front of him. A few meters away, there was a chair. It was identical to the chair that he had woken up on, but there was a key difference between this chair and his.

In it, sat Rize.

The binge eating, S-ranked ghoul twirled a finger through her lavender hair. She was wearing the same dress, the same glasses, the same everything. It was like she hadn t changed at all from that day. She tilted her head back to look at Kaneki from her seated position. She gave him a happy smile Well this is interesting, she said, slowly getting up from her seat "I would never have thought that it would come to this. You, who said that you would never let me take control, made the choice."

Kaneki s eyes narrowed at Rize "What are you talking about? I didn t make any choice."

"Oh, but you did."

Kaneki s felt his fist clenched and his eyes narrow at the sound of the voice. It was soft but radiated uncontrollable power and fury. It had an unspoken wisdom, like the manager, but a hidden chaotic side that was desperately trying to be hidden. If Kaneki were to take a guess, he would say this is what the Reaper sounded like before he cleaved your soul from your body. Kaneki s entire body snapped around into a fighting position, ready for whatever came at him. But his entire form fell apart when he finally laid eyes on the owner of the voice. She wore a black shoulderless dress that lightly clung almost delicately to her form as it cascaded down her body only to stop at her ankles. But while it was gently draped over her, Kaneki could see almost every curve, every muscle and every breath she made. Her arms were covered by thin, fingerless red gloves. Her nails were pitch black, dead and decaying like Kaneki s. Her blue hair was neatly combed to one side, intentionally covering her left eye. She was stunning, she was beautiful, she was.

Familiar.

"Touka-chan?"

She blinked once, in surprise or confusion Kaneki didn t know. What he did know, was that she smiled soon afterward. It wasn t the playful smile that she had on when she used to make fun of him before pointing out every flaw that she could see. It was the smile she wore when she saw him teaching Hinami, the smile she had when she was genuinely happy.

The last time he saw that smile, was when she saw him safe and sound, free from Jason s torture. After that, he never saw her smile at him with the same warmth again. Kaneki straightened his posture and took a tentative step forward. His movement was slow, deliberate like he was scared that Touka might run away. But she didn t run away. She stepped forward, hand raised like she wanted nothing more than to embrace him.

"Don t get too excited," Rize said, interrupting Kaneki's thoughts, "That isn't your dear little Touka."

Both Touka and Kaneki stopped moving instantly. The Ghoul hybrid turned and gave Rize a quick, questioning glance. At first, Kaneki was hesitant to trust what she said. After all, how could this not be Touka? The evidence was standing right in front of him, and along with that, Kaneki trusted Rize about as much as Jason like a responsible guardian of a child. But on the same token, how could this be Touka? Kaneki didn t even know where he was himself. He had a sneaking suspicion, and that suspicion was probably correct, but every other part of Kaneki refused to acknowledge it. That kind of thought is crazy, after all, how many people do you know that get trapped in their own head? According to Esdeath, Touka was in the capital, being tortured for no other reason then for a sick doctors science experiment. And along with that, even though the dress was absolutely stunning, Touka would never wear something like that of her own volition. She would rather eat her arm then look seem like someone else's meal. So, against his better judgment, he glared at whatever was using Touka, or even his memory of Touka to look like her.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded

The thing that was wearing Touka s likeness blinked before putting a hand to her chin in a delicate, feminine and completely un-Touka motion. She let out a sweet almost, childlike laugh before curtsying to Kaneki, "**I, am your humble servant, master.**"

Kaneki flinched at the sudden change of dialect from the thing. It no longer sounded like a single feminine voice. Now, it seemed like a hundred voices were speaking in perfect unison, creating a voice that echoed on itself like it was in its own personal tunnel. Rize gave out her own chuckle at Kaneki s surprise as she stepped out of the chair and towards Kaneki, "Well, isn't this nice. Three monsters come into the same mind, I wonder how many will walk out?"

Kaneki gave Rize a hateful glare causing the S-rank ghoul to tilt her head in confusion, "Oh what's that for? I haven't done anything to deserve a look like that."

Rize took another step forward and Kaneki s fist shot out like a bullet. The hardened bone of Kaneki s fist connected hard against Rize s neck, causing something to snap and making her fly backward. Rize s body flew through the air like a ragdoll and she crashed against the chair. The softwood crumpled like tin foil, breaking in several places leaving Rize with several sticks to break her fall. Kaneki slowly let his hand fall to his side as he watched Rize slowly pick herself up. Her neck was broken, so when she finally stood straight up again, her head tilted unnaturally against the side of her neck. She turned to face the two others before bringing her hands up to her head. Rize s hands felt around for a second before they grabbed the base of her head and her jaw. A sharp twist, and a sickening crack later, Rize breathed in a long breath of fresh air. She adjusted her glasses, pushed a strand of hair out of her eye, then she just chuckled, "Well, at least you aren t afraid to hit a woman."

"I ate you once," Kaneki reminded her, "The next time I might not leave a body."

Rize merely shrugged, "And pray tell, how did that work out for you?"

Kaneki clenched his fist again, this time, so hard the whites of his knuckles began to pop out. He took a step forward, but the Touka lookalike placed a hand on his shoulder, "**Don't master, she is not worth your time.**"

Kaneki took a second to look at the Touka look-alike. His face contorted in anger for a second, but he did eventually unclench his fist. Rize raised an eyebrow and regarded the woman for a second, "And you think that you're worth his time? Last I checked, Kaneki was my little bookworm, not yours."

The Touka look alike opened her mouth to speak, but Kaneki stepped between her and Rize. Both the look-alike and Rize looked at the hybrid with questioning glances. Kaneki ignored the look-alike for a second, partly because he wanted Rize to shut up so that someone other than her could give answers later. And, it was hard looking at Touka again. Every second he focused on her, a memory came back, some were happy, others were just painful reminders of his mistakes. So making sure that the look-alike was in his blind spot, he focused solely on Rize "I. Am. Not. Your. Plaything". He declared "And if you ever think otherwise, I ll kill you."

Rize didn t react at first to Kaneki s declaration, she only glanced behind him. She stared at the space for a few seconds before putting on a kind, innocent smile. It was the kind of smile you would never expect to come from a mass murdering bitch. It was the smile that tricked Kaneki into falling for Rize from afar in the first place. It took all of Kaneki s self-control to stop himself from marching towards Rize, punch her again before beating Rize s head into the ground. But Touka said she wasn t worth it, and Kaneki agreed to with her. Kaneki wasn t sure about where he was, or who this look-alike really was, but he was sure of one thing.

He was in control if he wanted to kill either of them, he could.

Kaneki turned away from Rize to face the look alike, "So, what are you supposed to be?" he asked looking her up and down.

The look-alike bowed again, "**I am the power that you've kept hidden within yourself all this time. You may call me Chikara.**"

Kaneki raised an eyebrow but he didn t question it further. What he did question was simple, "You said I made a choice."

Chikara smiled almost deviously "Yes, you did. A very important one in fact."

"That being?"

Chikara slowly straightened herself before raising her right hand into the air. Instantly, the landscape around the three changed. They were no longer in a white world filled with flowers, it looked like, a shopping district? Kaneki s head shot around, taking in the scenery instantly. The buildings were stacked together in neat rows that formed a singular column by surrounding an open road which led to a castle in the distance. Kaneki s eyes widened when he saw the castle, he knew that castle. Slowly, the buildings around him became familiar. It was the main street of the Empire. Kaneki snapped his head around, looking for a certain building. Sure enough, at the corner of the district, Anteku stood out like a sore thumb. The coffee shop/home that Kaneki had built for himself wasn t a grand building, only two stories with a single bedroom above the main shop. When it was being built, Kaneki never really put much thought into designing it, so it just looked like your average restaurant that perfectly blended into the scenery of the other buildings. But, the store had one clear difference that separates it from everything else. In front of the entrance, a series of tables and chairs were laid out so people could enjoy their coffee outside when the weather permitted it. Today, there was only one person sitting at the tables.

Kaneki instantly knew who the person was. He looked to Chikara before starring at the man, "Why?" He asked no one, "Why am I just sitting there?"

Sure enough, a perfect replica of Kaneki was sitting at the table enjoying his coffee. He had his eyepatch on and his hair was dyed perfectly jet black. In front of him, an overused pencil and an open notebook sat completely undisturbed. The image of Kaneki took a sip of his coffee before picking up the two objects, leaning back in his chair slightly before scribbling down the memories that have haunted him for years. Next to the actual Kaneki, Chikara gestured to her master s look-alike, "**This is why you called me. Tell me, what do you see?**"

Kaneki looked over at the store and examined his look-alike. Kaneki noted his posture, his breathing, the tensing of his muscles and came to one distinct conclusion.

"I see a man taking some time off work", Kaneki said in response "He's trying to relax and repent for his past mistakes."

Chikara put a hand to her chin, "**Really? Because that's not what I see.**"

Kaneki's eyebrow cocked on its own, "Then what do you see?"

"Yes, please. Tell us all what is so painfully obvious." Rize said, her entire form completely disinterested as she lazily twirled a strand of hair in her finger.

She stopped when she noticed Kaneki's glare, but she only shrugged her shoulders in response "What? It doesn't matter what you chose in the end. You'll make the wrong choice like you always do."

Kaneki's eyes widened at Rize. She, did she just say that? Did she have the gall to say that he always made the wrong choice? It wasn t his fault, all of his choices were forced on him. Did he choose to become a ghoul?

No.

Did he choose to catch Jason s eye, get captured and tortured?

_**NO!**_

Chikara gently touched Kaneki s shoulder, drawing his attention away from Rize and his anger. She gestured back to his look-alike, who was still working on his notes. Kaneki reluctantly turned to face Chikara and his look alike. Chikara snapped her fingers, and part of the landscape shifted again. The space around Kaneki s look-alike stayed the same, but everything else around him was twisted and stretched. Kaneki was reminded of the moving landscape of a fast moving car during a road trip. The sight was starting to get a little nauseating, but Kaneki bit his cheek for a second and soon after, everything came into focus again. It was a huge room, stone walls that rose to at least fifty feet in the air, went so far in both directions they seemed to stretch forever. If the walls were dripping water, Kaneki might have thought that this was a cave of some sort. But even though the walls were dripping something, it definitely wasn t water. Blood, gallons of it were splattered across the walls creating splashes of sick red art. But the walls and the depressing atmosphere didn t matter because Kaneki was busy focusing on the centerpiece of this horrible place.

In the center of the room, chained to the wall like an animal, was Touka. She looked like she had gone through hell. Dried blood had forced her hair down, effectively covering both of her eyes. She wore the remains of her Anteiku uniform, but several cuts had gone straight through the soft fabric and caused deep wounds to leak thick streams of blood. The parts of her hands and feet that were bound by chains were so tight that they cut into her past her skin and down to the bone. Touka looked like she had no strength, no life, Kaneki didn t know if he was looking at Touka or just Touka s corpse.

Kaneki didn't ask if this was an image, a look-alike or even a sick joke. His body was in motion before any rational thought came to him. He sprinted forward, but when he was a meter away from Touka, some unseen force stopped him in his tracks. Kaneki hit the force like an angry bull, head on and without preparation. He staggered back but regained his composure quickly. Kaneki ran back to the invisible force and started beating on the wall, desperately trying to break through. But it was like hitting a wall made of pure steel. No matter how hard Kaneki pushed, or punched, it stayed perfectly solid. Kaneki s anger grew with each blow, a single wall separating him from his friend, it was insulting! He had to get through! He needed to save her! _HE NEEDED TO PROTECT HER!_

"TOUKA-CHAN!" He screamed "I'M HERE! I'M COMING TO GET YOU! JUST HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER!"

Touka's head didn t even flinch when Kaneki screamed, causing terror to course through Kaneki as fast as the blood pumping through his veins.

"**TOUKA-CHAN!**"

Kaneki beat against the force until his knuckles broke open and his wrist cracked in two from the strain. When his hands fell uselessly to the side, he started kicking. He did this until his feet ended in the same state as his hands. Kaneki fell to his knees, panting and gasping desperately for breath. In between breaths, he looked up at Touka s broken form. She still hadn t looked up, she still hadn t seen him. Kaneki gritted his teeth, biting his lip so hard, he broke it open. Blood oozed from the wound, and the taste of it along with the pain filled Kaneki with new energy. He tried to get to his feet, but his broken ankles couldn t support his weight. Kaneki s face slid down the invisible wall as his body collapsed from under him. But even through the pain, Kaneki made sure to never take his eyes off Touka. He tried to get up again, but his broken body still didn t allow him to get up. A growl of frustration escaped Kaneki's lips. He should be healed by now! He should be strong enough to get through no matter what barrier stood between him and Touka! He! Wasn't! This! Weak!

Kaneki felt someone touch him on the shoulder and suddenly, his body was perfectly healed. He looked behind him and found Chikara looking down at him with a sad expression on his face "**I'm sorry master, but you cannot get through. No matter how many times you try, you will never be strong enough to get through.**"

Kaneki stared at her for a moment, his eyes wide with surprise. But that surprise slowly turned to fury. He stood up and barred down on Chikara, "What did you say?"

Chikara remained completely still under Kaneki s gaze, "**I said that you were not-.**"

"NOT STRONG ENOUGH!?" Kaneki roared, "I CAN RIP HUMANS APART WITH MY BARE HANDS! I CAN BRING SS-RANKED GHOULS TO THEIR KNEES! I CAN MAKE A WORLD FEAR ME AND YOU SAY I M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!"

Chikara took a step back, whether it was out of fear or out of respect Kaneki didn t care. He only wanted to know one thing. Why the fuck, was he not strong enough? Chikara glanced behind him at Rize. The lavender haired ghoul had said nothing through Kaneki s entire episode, and she hadn't even cracked a smile. She just looked, disappointed. When Chikara s gaze landed on her, she let out a tired sigh, "Well, I guess you should tell him."

As the only male that him could apply too, Kaneki stepped forward "What are you talking about?"

Rize just shrugged her shoulders and went back to twirling her hair between her finger. Kaneki balled his fist, he was ready to beat that bitch into the ground, but that wouldn t help Touka. He turned away from Rize and towards Ketsu "What the hell is she talking about?" He demanded.

Chikara said nothing, she just pointed at Touka and then to the scene of Kaneki sipping coffee outside Anteiku. Kaneki followed the direction of Chikara s finger, but his eyes only narrowed when he saw what he was looking at. He turned back to Chikara, primal rage burning in his eyes, "What the fuck am I supposed to be looking at?" He demanded.

Chikara s face was completely neutral, she just pointed at Kaneki's look-alike and Touka s broken form again. This only served to heighten Kaneki s anger, he reeled back a fist to punch Chikara as hard as he could. She was supposed to be giving him answers! Not just point at him, relaxing in a coffee shop while Touka went through he-.

Kaneki s fist slowly lowered itself as realization dawned on him. He turned back to the two scenes and Chikara nodded behind him "**Now you see the master, this is what I see.**"

Kaneki slowly nodded his head, "Yes, I think I do see. I see a fool, wrapped in his own safety, he ignored the desperation of his friend. He lived a quiet life, away from war. But she, she was forced to go through hell. How long did she have to go through it? He asked no one, I could only handle ten days before I lost control, what is Touka-chan going to be after years of this!?"

"But isn't that good?" Rize asked, "After your ten days you became strong. After ten days you could fight, you could protect. Why should this change be bad for someone like dear little Touka?"

Kaneki s head snapped towards her, "BECAUSE SHE DOESN T HAVE TO CHANGE!" He roared, "THE ONLY WORRY SHE NEEDS TO HAVE IS CAN SHE KEEP HER GRADES UP! SHE DOESN T NEED A WAR!"

"**But as much as you want to help master,**" Chikara said, "**You are not strong enough.**"

Kaneki gritted his teeth and let out a roar. He smashed his fist against the invisible force, trying in vain to get through once again. A smile slowly etched itself on Chikara s face, but it was only there for a second. If Kaneki was paying attention he might have caught it, but right now, he couldn t notice the world falling around him.

Chikara smiled behind Kaneki, "In fact," she started, "You've always been too weak."

Kaneki s blood-shot eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in barely controlled anger. He snapped around to look at Chikara, "What the fuck did you just sa-."

Chikara snapped her fingers in the middle of Kaneki s sentence, and around the three present, the world shifted once again. Kaneki shook his head to rid himself from the blinding light that came with the transition. He blinked away the black spots in his vision and raised his fist, as soon as he could see, he could beat back anything that came his way. As his vision cleared, Kaneki caught a glimpse of a woman on all fours hitting the floor with an open palm. Bottles of wine and beer were thrown all over the floor of what looked to be a cramped living room. Cabinets holding dishes lined the walls along with picture frames and bookshelves. A dining table was thrown to the side to make room for the woman to do her work. From his angle, Kaneki couldn t see what she was doing. Still on guard, he slowly moved around the woman to see who she was and what she was doing. But Kaneki s hand fell uselessly to his side when he saw the face of the woman.

His lip quivered in fear, "Mother..."

The hand of the woman came down, hitting a young Ken Kaneki across the face. The young boy flinched from the pain and screamed: "PLEASE STO-!"

His mother s hand came down again, cutting off the young boys scream with a swift blow to the head. Kaneki watched, completely frozen as his mother beat his younger self into the ground. He fell to his knees, his strength leaving him so fast he didn t even know he fell. Behind him, Chikara and Rize watched in silent satisfaction as Kaneki slowly crawled his way towards his mother. He reached out a hand, "Stop." he whispered.

His mother didn t hear him, she kept beating the young ken again and again. With each strike, Kaneki's outstretched hand twitched as memories of pain flashed through him.

_This this isn't how it's supposed to go. Mother is supposed to be nice to me, kind to me. She isn't. She isn't. She isn't supposed to hurt me!_

Kaneki roared as his outstretched hand curled into a fist. His fist moved like lightning, aimed straight for his mother's unknowing head. But right before his fist connected the with the soft skull of his mother, she disappeared along with the living room in an instant. Kaneki blinked before snapping his head around. He was back in the prison room with Chikara, Rize, and Touka. Kaneki slowly gritted his teeth and slammed a hand against the floor!

"Why!?" He demanded, "Why did I have to see that!?"

Chikara lowered her head respectfully, "**I needed to show you what you are. You've never had the strength to stand up for yourself. Just think, how much happier would your mother have been if she didn't need to drown herself in drinking and work to provide for you? Maybe, if you had been stronger, she wouldn't have needed to show you how strong you need to be. She would have had to teach you how the world really works through the strike of her hand. Maybe, she might still be alive. Maybe, you wouldn't be such a failure as you are now.**"

Kaneki bared his teeth in anger, he was going to rip Chikara apart for saying such impudent but true facts. Kaneki's anger vanished instantly as a thought occurred to him. What if he had stepped up? What if he had found some way to help his mother instead of just reading those stupid books? He saw it happen, any good son could have seen it happen. She worked herself to death for him, and all he did for her was cry, only forcing her to beat the weakness out of him. But, Kaneki never lost that weakness. He was always lying down and accepting what everyone else wanted him to do. If for once, he actually did what he should have been doing, none of this would have happened.

A single tear ran its way down Kaneki's cheek, and behind him, Chikara s smile grew to inhuman proportions. Chikara's smile quickly morphed into helpful concern as she grabbed ahold of his hand "**But you don't have to remain this weak. I know how you can become strong enough to protect her, or any of your precious ones for eternity.**"

Kaneki's eyes lit up, he snapped around and grabbed Chikara by the shoulders, "How!?" He demanded, his eyes and body shaking in desperation, "I'll do anything!"

Chikara slowly raised an eyebrow as if to question him, "**Are you sure master?**" she asked, "**Are you sure you are strong enough to go through with what needs to be done?**"

"I know I'm strong enough!" Kaneki screamed, "Of course I'm sure! I need that strength! Without it, I can't change this world for the better!"

Chikara raised another eyebrow, "**Even if it means killing the humans?**"

"I'll slaughter every single one if I need to!"

"**Even if it means forever denying yourself the sanctity of heaven?**"

"_I'LL EAT GOD HIMSELF!_"

"_**Even-.**_"

"_**I DON'T CARE WHAT IT IS! I LL DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT THEM!**_"

Chikara didn't even bother hiding her smile as Kaneki spoke the words. She simply got down on her knees and gestured with both arms at something behind him, "**Then, you are ready, master. Behind you, lies the final barrier blocking you from your true power.**"

Kaneki turned around as fast as he could. He was ready, ready for anything that might stand in his way. What he found, wasn't what he expected.

In the chains that held Touka only a few seconds earlier, was him. But it wasn't the ghoul him, the strong him, and him that could tear this world apart! No, the Kaneki that was wrapped in the chains had black hair, no muscle and nothing but fear in his eyes. He wore a simple blue jacket with gray jeans, not the skintight mask of a warrior. No, the Kaneki in front of him wasn t strong.

He was a pathetic weakling who thought he was going on a date with a nice girl in a bookstore.

Kaneki felt his mouth water and his fist clench. This was it? This was the last wall before he got the strength he so rightfully deserved? Chikara walked up to Kaneki and draped her arms over his shoulders. She gently ran her fingers over his arm and his cheek, like a long lost lover. Her lips parted as she leaned in close to his ear, "**All you need to do, is end your weakness.**" she whispered, "**All you need to do, is kill the you that you hate. Kill him, and the world will be yours.**"

Kaneki's head nodded in an almost robotic motion. He took a step forward, then another, and another and nothing came from the beyond to stop him. With each step, the weakness daring to live squirmed and screamed: "PLEASE STOP!" It begged "DON'T ERASE ME! DON'T KILL ME PLEASE LET ME LIVE!"

Kaneki stopped in his tracks, and the weak him slowly looked up at him with hope. It started to smile because everything was going to be all right. He wasn t going to be eaten, he wouldn t dissapea- "_**You're fucking pathetic.**_" Kaneki growled at his other self.

The weak Kaneki s mouth slowly opened, to scream or say something Kaneki didn t know. The only thing he did know, was that his hand was over the weakness throat. It was squirming, thrashing, doing everything in its power to survive. To keep him human. To keep Kaneki weak! Kaneki pressed a little harder, and the weakness looked at him, cries for desperation and mercy shining through his eyes. But the strong don t need to show mercy, all the horrible things in the world happen because of the weakness of the person involved. But Kaneki wasn t weak. He was strong. Esdeath asked it earlier herself, How does it feel Kaneki? How does it feel to be the strongest?!

Kaneki smiled and looked at his weakness,_ It. F**eels. Good.**_

There was a gurgle, then a snap.

Then everything fell silent.

Kaneki allowed his arm to go limp, causing him to drop the dead corpse of his former self on the ground. Kaneki found that he was panting, he was tired and out of breath but it was ok. He could now have the power he had been waiting for for so long. He waited, but nothing came.

The only thing he felt come, was dread. Behind him, Chikara erupted into mad laughter, "**yesYesYESUYESYESYES! YOU VE ACTUALLY DONE IT!**"

"Yes, I did." Kaneki said turning around, "Now where is the power you promised?"

Chikara stopped laughing instantly. She tilted her head and snarled at Kaneki, "**Why the fuck do you get any power? You're a fucking worthless sack of skin, who ripped out his own humanity on the words of a fucking voice in his head!**"

Kaneki's bared his teeth before walking up to Chikara. But he tripped on something. Kaneki had a second to wonder what he tripped on before something grabbed him out of the air. It felt like the claws of a giant monster. It raised Kaneki high into the air before slamming him into the ground at Chikara s feet. The ghoul hybrid coughed up blood as the Touka look alike slowly leaned down, "**Sorry, little bookworm, but this isn t your world anymore. And you aren t the master anymore. _We are._**"

Kaneki forced his head up, to look in Chikaras eyes and spit in her face, but what happened next stopped him. The world shifted again, and a second later, all three of them were back in the red flower field. Next to Chikara, the roses started to die out and turn black. Instantly, one turned into two, two into four, and four into a hundred as the sickness spread through the field like a virus. Kaneki slowly lifted himself up from the ground just as every flower in the field died and went black. He heard something crack from above him and he turned his gaze skyward just in time to see the white sky go dark as well. As the last specks of light started to fade from the world, Kaneki looked back at Chikara, but it no longer looked like Touka. It was a black, humanoid shaped thing that let out a maddening laugh. As it laughed, it morphed into different bodies and faces. One second it was an old man in white armor, the next a girl in servants robes. Every second that Kaneki watched it changed into another form as it s laughter grew into a crescendo of madness. In desperation, Kaneki turned to Rize, but she was changing as well. Not in the same sense as Chikara, but in the form sense. Black petals were drifting off her body and with each petal, a part of her body started to go transparent. She noticed Kaneki looking at her. She saw the fear and desperation and laughed.

Chikara and Rize joined in a mad chorus of laughter for a second before stopping suddenly. The formless thing that was Chikara stepped towards Kaneki. It raised what might have been a hand, and it took hold of Kaneki s head. It turned him around and threw him to his knees, forcing him to look at the corpse of his humanity, Look, It said pointing at the corpse, Look at the great choice that you ve made.

Kaneki stared at the lifeless eyes of his former self, and something cracked within him. He tried to get up, but his limbs wouldn t move. He couldn t move, for his punishment was waiting for him the second he stood. The massless blob that was Chikara stood up, leaving Kaneki on his knees before waving its hand. The space around Chikara started to crack and shatter. Reality seemed to come crumbling down in the one space, revealing an opening to a pure white world. Chikara smiled with a formless mouth, "_**Yes! OH YES, WE'RE FREE! THE KETSUEKI SHINIGAMI IS FINALLY FREE!**_"

The living Imperial arm took a second to glance back at Kaneki before bowing to Rize.

"_**Thank you, for giving us this chance mistress. We promise you will get your turn to control soon.**_"

Rize gave the mass a kind smile, "I'll be waiting, my little blood bug."

The Ketsueki Shinigami formed teeth in the head of its black mass to smile at Rize. It stepped forward toward the rift in space. It's black fingers gently touched the entrance of the rift and like dust in a vacuum, the Ketsueki Shinigami was sucked into it, leaving Kaneki and Rize in the slowly blackening world. The two were silent for a moment, but then Rize slowly made her way through the dead flowers to stand next to Kaneki. Kaneki didn't react as she approached, his mind was still trying to process what had just happened to him. Rize smiled as she leaned down next to Kaneki, "Well done Kaneki, you promised to never let me gain control but you give yourself over to a monster far worse. Congratulations."

She reached out a hand and stroked his chin, "When you wake up from this nightmare, do one thing for me. Don t worry, even someone as pathetic and weak like you will be able to do something as simple as this. **Scream**." With that Rize faded, black petals swirled around the space she just inhabited before flowing off in a shapeless abyss.

Kaneki didn't watch her leave, couldn't even move. His gaze was locked on the corpse sitting in the field of black flowers. "_What have I done?"_ That was the only sane thought going through his head as the sky above him slowly turned completely black. Through his tear filled eyes, Kaneki noticed in horror that his broken, dead human self, was slowly being pulled into the black field. His eyes widened and in desperation, he fell to his knees and began pulling on his clothes to keep him above the surface of the ground. But his fingers passed through the body like it was a ghost or Kaneki was the ghost, he didn t know anymore and the other couldn t think for himself anymore anyway. So as Kaneki clawed and screamed, the kind, innocent memory of him fell into the blackness.

There was a moment of silence as Kaneki stared at the space where the body was. His hands slowly went to his face and they shook. He couldn t stop them from shaking. He didn t even notice the blackness of the world around him slowly crawl up his leg. It was cold, it was horrible, it was inviting. But soon the voices came and they got louder, and louder, louder louderlouderlouderlouderlouder!

Kaneki s hands shot to his ears, nearly crushing his own skull with the pressure of trying to keep the voices out!

But they wouldn t stop, they just kept laughing.

"Stop it!" He screamed.

They didn t listen.

"I'm not some laughing voice! I'm Ken Kaneki!"

They didn't care.

I'm Ken Kaneki!

I'm Ken KanekI!

I'm Ken Kaneki!

I'm Ken kaneki!

I'm Ken kaneki.

I'm...

Wait.

**Who was that again?**

**He sounds weak.**

**What should we do with someone as weak as him?**

_**Let's eat him.**_

_**And everyone else in this fucking world!  
**_

**Authors Note:**

**So how's everyone doing? I'm doing well after... Six months? HOLY FUCK SIX MONTHS?! I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SIX MONTHS!?**

**...**

**...**

**Ahhh...Sorry? **

**Jokes and bad puns aside, I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get out. A combination of family circumstances and work along with my own inability to keep writing put this story on the back burner for far too long. But don't worry, for I have been reading Re: and I have a muse fueled up and ready to go! If I can keep this up, the next chapter should be done in two months. Hopefully it won't take another half of a year to finish!**

**... Apparently I can't stop myself from making horrible jokes. Sorry. **

**Also, before I forget, a special thanks to a certain Dreamingflower for beta reading this chapter. It is far better than I could have ever made it on my own, thank you. **

**So again, I'm so sorry for the long wait I promise that it won't happen again. **

**Until next time with He's Not Here Anymore!**

**So if you found this, Thanks for reading =]**


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